CHURCH COMMISSIONERS

Ethical Criteria: Investments

Brian Binley: To ask the hon. Member for Banbury, representing the Church Commissioners, what account the Church Commissioners take of ethical criteria when making investments.

Tony Baldry: The Church Commissioners are committed to managing our assets in a way that reflects the Church's teaching and values and take advice on ethical investment policies from the Church's Ethical Investment Advisory Group. I would be very happy to send him copies of the latest Advisory Group annual review.

WALES

Departmental Training

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much her Department spent on employee training since 1997.

David Jones: The Wales Office came into existence in 1999 though my Department only holds financial records from 2003 onwards. Since 2003 the Wales Office has spent £122,471 on employee training.

SCOTLAND

Rail Services

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent representations he has received from representatives of businesses in Scotland on cross-border rail services.

David Mundell: Both my right. hon. Friend and I have received representations on cross-border rail services from various interests including businesses in Scotland.

Rural Economy

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues on initiatives to assist the rural economy in Scotland.

Michael Moore: We are fully committed to improving the lives of people living in rural areas. As an example, the highlands and islands is one of four rural areas in the UK selected to pilot the next generation of high speed broadband. Rolling out superfast broadband is of vital importance in ensuring the sustainability of our rural communities in the 21st century.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Asbestos

Steven Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will bring forward proposals to amend the provisions of the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002 to distinguish the white form of asbestos and the blue and brown forms of that substance.

Chris Grayling: The 2002 Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations were replaced by the Control of Asbestos Regulations in 2006.
	The existing regulatory approach is based on evidence of risk and already distinguishes between different types of asbestos-containing materials depending on both the type of asbestos they contain, and the propensity for fibres to be released if the material is disturbed or damaged. The regulations allow work on lower risk materials, such as bonded white asbestos cement, to be undertaken with less stringent controls than those which apply to higher risk materials.
	This recognises the evidence which shows there is a substantially lower risk associated with white asbestos for a given amount of exposure in comparison with blue and brown asbestos. This does not, however, equate to no risk.
	There is, at present, international scientific consensus on the classification of asbestos as carcinogenic, which informs government policy. We will keep this under review and until the consensus changes, the Secretary of State has no plans to amend the regulations.

Asbestos

Steven Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will commission an inquiry into the appropriateness of the health and safety precautions in force in respect of asbestos cement.

Chris Grayling: The current requirements contained in the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006, which apply to asbestos cement products, implement the European Codified Directive 2009/148/EC on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to asbestos at work. The 2006 regulations were the subject of public consultation and the requirements were framed in accordance with the responses received as far as the directive allowed.
	There is, at present, international scientific consensus on the classification of asbestos, which informs government policy. No significant new evidence has since been presented to suggest that the present health and safety precautions should be reviewed. We will keep this under review and until the consensus changes, the Secretary of State has no plans to amend the regulations.

Employment Schemes: North East

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what support will be provided to assist people into work in the North East, prior to the introduction of the Work Programme in the North East; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Grayling: The Work Programme aims to simplify the back to work system by replacing many of the current schemes. These include Flexible New Deal (FND), New Deals for Jobseeker's Allowance customers and Employment Zones which will be phased out and replaced by the Work Programme by summer 2011. Pathways to Work will be phased out and folded into the new arrangements in the first half of next year. We are working with our delivery partners to give continuity of support until transition to the Work Programme. We intend for support to be available for all customers during the transition to the Work Programme.

Housing and Council Tax Benefit: Fraud

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will assess the merits of ring-fencing the funding allocated to local authorities for the detection of  (a) housing benefit and  (b) council tax benefit fraud.

Chris Grayling: The Department does not ring-fence the funding allocated to local authorities for the detection of  (a) housing benefit and  (b) council tax benefit fraud. We combine the funding for all aspects of administering these benefits to give local authorities the flexibility to respond to local circumstances.
	The Department published a new fraud and error strategy on 18 October 2010. The strategy includes the Department's plans for improving detection of fraud across all benefits, including housing benefit and council tax benefit.

Poverty: Children

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what recent estimate he has made of the number of children  (a) in absolute poverty,  (b) in relative poverty and  (c) with combined material deprivation and low income in Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East constituency;
	(2)  how many children are living in poverty  (a) before and  (b) after housing costs in Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East constituency.

Maria Miller: Estimates of the number and proportion of children living in poverty in Scotland are published in 'Poverty and Income Inequality in Scotland: 2008-09'. This uses household income adjusted (or 'equivalised') for household size and composition, to provide a proxy for standard of living.
	As they are based on survey data, child poverty estimates published in 'Poverty and Income Inequality in Scotland' do not allow analysis by parliamentary constituency. However, figures for Scotland are set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Number and percentage of children living in (a) relative poverty before housing costs (BHC) and after housing costs (AHC) (b) absolute poverty (BHC and AHC) and (c) combined material deprivation and low income in Scotland 
			  Number of children - thousand  ( percentage) 
			   Relative poverty  Absolute poverty  Combined material deprivation and low income 
			  Period  BHC  AHC  BHC  AHC  
			 2006-07 to 2008-09 210 (21%) 260 (26%) 110 (11%) 150 (15%) 160 (16%) 
			  Notes: 1. The source of this information is the Poverty and Income Inequality in Scotland: 2008-09 publication. 2. The income measures used to derive the estimates shown employ the same methodology as the Department for Work and Pensions publication 'Households Below Average Income' series, which uses disposable household income, adjusted (or 'equivalised') for household size and composition, as an income measure as a proxy for standard of living. 3. The figures are based on OECD equivalisation factors. 4. Figures are based on survey data and as such are subject to a degree of sampling and non-sampling error. 5. Numbers of children in low-income households have been rounded to the nearest 10,000 children. 6. Each of the measures is defined as: Relative poverty: percentage of children living in households with less than 60% of contemporary median household income. Absolute poverty: percentage of children living in households with less than 60% of 1998-99 median household income held constant in real terms. Low Income and Material Deprivation: percentage of children living in households in material deprivation and with less than 70% of contemporary median household income, before housing costs. 7. Income after housing costs (AHC) is derived by deducting a measure of housing costs from the before housing costs (BHC) measure of income. These include (1) rent (gross of housing benefit), (2) water rates, community water charges and council water charges, (3) mortgage interest payments, and (4) structural insurance premiums (for owner occupiers), ground rent and service charges. 8. BHC and AHC figures are given for the relative and absolute poverty measures. The combined material deprivation and low income measure is defined using before housing costs income.  Source: Poverty and Income Inequality in Scotland: 2008-09

Social Security Benefits: Guardianship

Nicky Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues on the provision of benefits for relatives who are permitted by social services to act as guardians to children in the  (a) short,  (b) medium and  (c) long term; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Miller: We acknowledge that people who are permitted by social services to provide 'kinship' care for children of relatives undertake an extremely valuable role, often taking on this responsibility in difficult circumstances. Such carers are usually entitled to benefits available to birth parents, including child benefit, child tax credits or pension credit, subject to meeting the normal conditions of entitlement. Relevant discussions with ministerial colleagues have therefore focused on wider issues concerning benefits for parents.

Social Security Benefits: Haematological Cancer

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the estimated annual cost is to his Department of providing financial support for a patient with a poor diagnosis of haematological cancer.

Chris Grayling: I refer my right hon. Friend to the written answer I gave him on 20 October 2010,  Official Report, column 766W. A wide range of support is available to disabled and ill people. The way benefits are awarded and data are collected means that we are unable to provide an estimated annual cost of the financial support for a patient with the particular condition of haematological cancer.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agriculture

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many  (a) farmers,  (b) directors,  (c) partners and  (d) spouses worked in each agricultural sector in each of the last five years.

James Paice: DEFRA only collects data on the total number of farmers, partners, directors and spouses working on agricultural holdings. The number by farm type for the last five years is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Number of principal farmers, partners, directors and spouses working on agricultural holdings in England 2005-09 
			  Thousand 
			  Farm type  2005  2006  2007  2008  2009 
			 Cereals 34 34 35 35 36 
			 General cropping 15 15 14 13 13 
			 Horticulture 15 15 13 13 14 
			 Specialist pigs 3 3 3 4 4 
			 Specialist poultry 10 9 9 10 10 
			 Dairy 26 26 21 20 20 
			 Grazing livestock (less favoured areas) 19 21 21 20 20 
			 Grazing livestock (lowlands) 53 50 47 46 45 
			 Mixed 20 19 16 16 16 
			 Other farm types 29 32 40 42 44 
			 Total 223 224 219 220 223 
			  Source: DEFRA June Survey of Agriculture and Horticulture 
		
	
	Farm type is classified by the predominant farming activity taking place on the holding, based on economic measure and profitability (standard gross margin, SGM). The farm type is defined as the activity which contributes more than two thirds of the total SGM for the holding.

Agriculture

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she expects to publish her Department's strategy for sustainable food production; and if she will make a statement.

James Paice: The Government have made it a Structural Reform Plan priority to support UK agriculture and encourage a sustainable increase in production to meet demand. We will take a coherent whole food chain approach in developing actions to take this forward.

Agriculture: Overtime

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average monthly overtime payments were for a worker employed in each of the six agricultural wages grades in each of the last five years.

James Paice: We do not have a breakdown of the average monthly overtime payments for workers employed in each of the six agricultural wages grades in each of the last five years. However, details for the years 2007, 2008 and 2009 are set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Overtime pay 
			  (£ per month) 
			  Grade  2007( 1)  2008( 2)  2009( 3) 
			 1 48 147 104 
			 2 165 195 178 
			 3 204 221 290 
			 4 351 403 529 
			 5 260 277 312 
			 6 286 208 221 
			 (1) Based on data from 4 quarters for the year, to January 2008. (2) Based on data from 4 quarters of the year, to January 2009. (3) Based on data from 4 quarters of the year, to September 2009. Due to changes in the structure and publication of the Earning and Hours survey, there was no survey in January 2010. These are the latest figures available.  Note: Figures are given for permanent, full time staff only. These figures are based on a sample survey, and are therefore subject to a degree of sampling error. Pay information is standardised to a weekly equivalent, but for this table has been converted to pay per calendar month.  Source: DEFRA Survey of Earnings and Hours of agricultural workers

Agriculture: Pay

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average wage was for a worker employed in each of the six agricultural wages grades in each of the last five years.

James Paice: We do not have a breakdown of the average wage for workers employed in each of the six agricultural wages grades in each of the last five years. However, details for the years 2007, 2008 and 2009 are set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Average pay 
			  £ per month 
			  Grade  2007( 1)  2008( 2)  2009( 3) 
			 1 997 1,101 1,187 
			 2 1,317 1,404 1,387 
			 3 1,491 1,521 1,642 
			 4 1,612 1,777 2,011 
			 5 1,694 1,772 1,790 
			 6 1,954 1,183 1,517 
			 (1) Based on data from four quarters of the year, to January 2008. (2) Based on data from four quarters of the year, to January 2009. (3) Based on data from four quarters of the year, to September 2009. Due to changes in the structure and publication of the Earning and Hours survey, there was no survey in January 2010. These are the latest figures available.  Note: Figures are given for permanent, full time staff only. These figures are based on a sample survey, and are therefore subject to a degree of sampling error. Pay information is standardised to a weekly equivalent, but for this table has been converted to pay per calendar month.  Source: DEFRA Survey of Earnings and Hours of agricultural workers.

Bees

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  whether she plans to retain BeeBase as a voluntary registration scheme for beekeepers;
	(2)  how many beekeepers have registered on BeeBase since its creation;
	(3)  what steps her Department is taking to increase the number of active beekeepers registered on BeeBase.

James Paice: The Food and Environment Research Agency's (Fera's) National Bee Unit's BeeBase database is a vital tool in controlling bee pests and diseases. Knowing the location of apiaries is essential if these harmful organisms are to be controlled quickly and effectively. An action plan is in place to increase the number of beekeepers who are voluntarily registered on the database. Depending on the success of this plan, compulsory registration may be considered but current policy remains one of encouraging voluntary registration.
	The action plan, which is a key part of the Healthy Bees Plan, includes the National Bee Unit's bee inspectors encouraging beekeepers to register, and a campaign by Fera in partnership with beekeeping stakeholders to raise awareness of BeeBase, and promote its aims and benefits. As a result, BeeBase registrations are increasing.
	Since its creation in 1992, BeeBase has been regularly updated to reflect the turnover in beekeepers and currently over 21,000 beekeepers are registered compared to approx 18,000 in 2008.

Bovine Tuberculosis

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many  (a) cases of positive bovine tuberculosis and  (b) inconclusive reactor cattle were identified in the latest period in which figures are available.

James Paice: The number of cattle slaughtered in England from 1 January to 31 July 2010 under bovine tuberculosis control measures as test reactors and inconclusive reactors is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Number 
			 Reactors 13,984 
			 Inconclusive reactors 117 
			  Note: Figures are subject to change as more data become available.  Source:  VetNet-Animal Health database (downloaded 20 October 2010).

Carbon Emissions: Business

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she plans to introduce mandatory reporting of carbon dioxide emissions by UK-listed companies; and if she will make a statement.

James Paice: holding answer 26 October 2010
	We are yet to take a decision on whether to introduce regulations requiring companies to report their greenhouse gas emissions.

Departmental Visits Abroad

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much her Department spent on overseas visits for senior officials in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Richard Benyon: From the information held centrally and by the Department's Executive Agencies, the following table shows expenditure on overseas visits by senior officials (SCS grade) in the financial year 2009-10.
	
		
			   £ 
			 DEFRA 506,746 
			 Animal Health 162 
			 Food and Environment Research Agency 719 
			 Veterinary Medicines Directorate 9,376 
			 Veterinary Laboratories Agency 3,325 
			 Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science 1,670 
			 Rural Payments Agency 4,734 
			 Total 526,732 
		
	
	All travel is undertaken in accordance with the Civil Service Management code.

Livestock: Waste Disposal

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the monetary value was of payments in respect of animals disposed of under the National Fallen Stock Scheme in each of the last five years.

James Paice: The information requested is not held by DEFRA. The National Fallen Stock Scheme is operated by the National Fallen Stock Co. and requests for such information should be directed to the company.

Wood

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  whether she plans to bring forward legislative proposals to regulate the sale of timber obtained from illegal logging;
	(2)  whether she plans to bring forward legislative proposals to prohibit the purchase of timber obtained from illegal logging.

James Paice: We will put in place the necessary legislation to implement the provisions of the EU Illegal Timber (Due Diligence) Regulation in the United Kingdom. This underlines our commitment to eliminating illegal timber from the UK market. The Regulation prohibits the first-placing of illegal timber on the EU market, restricting its purchase and sale down the supply chain.

ELECTORAL COMMISSION COMMITTEE

Electoral Systems

Peter Bone: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what recent discussions the Electoral Commission has had on allowing electors who have not yet voted but who are within the precinct of the polling station at the close of a poll to cast their votes.

Gary Streeter: In May 2010 the Electoral Commission recommended that the relevant rules for all elections in the UK should be amended to allow any elector who is entitled to vote at a polling station and who is in the queue to enter the polling station at the close of poll, to cast a vote.
	The Electoral Commission informs me that it has discussed this issue with the Deputy Prime Minister, the Minister for Political and Constitutional Reform and with a range of other interested parties, including Members of Parliament, Returning Officers, Government officials and electoral administrators.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Departmental Pay

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much was paid to officials in his Department and its non-departmental public bodies in bonuses and other payments in addition to salary in each year since his Department's inception; how many officials received such payments; and what the monetary value was of the largest 20 payments made in each such year.

Edward Davey: An element of the BIS overall pay award for staff below the SCS is allocated to non-consolidated variable pay related to performance. There are two types of award:
	1. Annual performance awards, that reward staff who achieve a highly successful annual performance rating.
	2. In-year awards that recognise strong performance in particularly demanding tasks or situations.
	These non-consolidated variable pay awards are used to drive high performance and do not add to future pay bill costs, as they are funded from within existing pay bill controls, and have to be re-earned each year against pre-determined targets. The payments made for both types of award are entirely related to staff performance. The in-year scheme was suspended on 9 July and no payments have been made to staff since that date.
	Performance awards for the SCS are part of the pay system across the whole senior civil service, and are used to reward high performance sustained throughout the year, based on judgments about how well an individual has performed relative to their peers. The performance related pay scheme is designed to help drive high performance and support better public service delivery. Performance awards are non-consolidated and non pensionable. The percentage of the pay bill set aside for performance-related awards for the SCS is based on recommendations from the independent Senior Salaries Review Body.
	 The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS)
	BIS was formed through a machinery of government (MoG) change that occurred in June 2009. The Department was created by merging the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS).
	The following table shows the number of payments that were made in BIS to non-SCS staff and the costs to the Department in 2009-10.
	
		
			   Number of awards  Amount (£) 
			 In-year performance awards paid between April 2009 and March 2010 884 438,324 
			 Annual performance awards paid in August 2009 1,006 1,326,510 
			
			 Total spend - 1,764,834 
		
	
	The following table shows the cost and number of payments that were made to staff via the in year scheme in 2010/11 before it was suspended on 9 July.
	
		
			   Number of awards  Amount (£) 
			 In-year performance awards paid between April 2010 and July 2010 288 147,585 
			
			 Total spend  147,585 
		
	
	No annual performance payments have yet been made to non-SCS staff in 2010-11.
	For 2009-10 the Senior Salaries Review Body advised Departments that up to 8.6% of their SCS pay bill could be used for non-consolidated awards for the SCS. In BIS just under 5% was actually awarded.
	
		
			  SCS 2009/10 performance awards paid in July 2010 
			  Number of awards  Amount(£) 
			 162 969,946 
		
	
	The following table shows the top 20 performance payments that were made to BIS staff in 2010.
	
		
			  SCS performance year 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2010 with payments made July 2010 
			  Payment  £ 
			 1 16,500 
			 2 15,875 
			 3 15,000 
			 4 14,500 
			 5 14,000 
			 6 13,000 
			 7 12,436 
			 8 11,500 
			 9 10,500 
			 10 10,500 
			 11 10,150 
			 12 10,148 
			 13 9,338 
			 14 9,000 
			 15 9,000 
			 16 9,000 
			 17 9,000 
			 18 9,000 
			 19 9,000 
			 20 9,000 
		
	
	A small number of individuals are employed on non-standard SCS contracts which link a higher percentage of their pay to delivery based objectives.
	The Department has not made any non-consolidated payments to staff outside of the arrangements described above unless they have been part of contractual severance arrangements.
	The information for non-departmental public bodies is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Helicopters: Finance

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much launch aid has been repaid to his Department from the EH101 helicopter project.

Mark Prisk: Details of the repayment terms of the launch investment contracts are commercially confidential. However, no repayments have yet been made on the EH101 contract.

Higher Education: Admissions

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans he has for the future cap on the number of funded places for universities in England; and if he will make a statement.

David Willetts: The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) will receive its annual grant letter for 2011-12 by January 2011. It will set out the number of funded places for that year. Plans for the longer term will be set out in the Higher Education White Paper this winter.

Higher Education: Bexley

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what percentage of school leavers in the London borough of Bexley progressed to university within 12 months of leaving school in the last period for which figures are available.

David Willetts: It is estimated 56% of students from Bexley local authority who were aged 17, studying two or more A levels at English schools in 2005/06, progressed to Higher Education in 2006/07.
	This figure is taken from matched data from the National Pupil Database, the Higher Education Statistics Agency Student Record and the Individualised Learner Record. The figure includes students who progress to HE level courses at English Further Education Colleges.

Higher Education: Finance

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the administration of  (a) the system of higher education funding and student finance proposed in the Browne Review and  (b) the current system in 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

David Willetts: The administration budgets for 2011-12 for both the Higher Education Funding Council for England and the Student Loans Company have not yet been set. We will consider the longer term costs in the context of the Government's response to Lord Browne's review. However, the outcome of the comprehensive spending review for the Department requires a reduction of around a third in the administration budgets of BIS's arm's length bodies over the CSR period.

Higher Education: Greater London

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  how many students normally resident in  (a) London,  (b) Lambeth and  (c) Streatham constituency applied during academic year 2009-10 for university entry in (i) autumn 2010 and (ii) autumn 2011;
	(2)  how many students normally resident in  (a) London,  (b) Lambeth and  (c) Streatham constituency who applied during academic year 2009-10 for university entry in autumn 2010 and autumn 2011 were not offered a place.

David Willetts: The information is in the following table.
	The figures cover applicants applying during the 2010 application cycle, which runs from September 2009 to October 2010, to enter courses beginning in autumn 2010 or, on the basis of deferred entry, autumn 2011 (they do not include people applying during the 2011 application cycle).
	
		
			  Applicants from London, Lambeth and Streatham applying to full-time undergraduate courses starting in autumn 2010 and autumn 2011 via the Universities and Colleges Admission Service (UCAS) 
			Year of entry 
			  Data  Domicile/parliamentary constituency  2010  2011  Total 
			 Applicants London 90,859 6,379 97,238 
			  Lambeth 3,357 276 3,633 
			  Streatham 1,290 100 1,390 
			  
			 Unplaced applicants London 28,591 2,906 31,497 
			  Lambeth 1,158 126 1,284 
			  Streatham 422 49 471 
			  Notes: 1. The data presented are for the provisional end of year 2010 captured on 13 October 2010. Final data on entry for the 2010 cycle will be available from 20 January 2011. 2. "London" and "Lambeth" have been identified using the declared area of permanent residence (domicile). 3. "Streatham" has been identified using the home postcode. 4. Only applicants with at least one autumn 2010 or autumn 2011 choice (ie application) have been reported for that year of entry ie those with only choices starting in January have been excluded. Applicants may be reported in 2010 and 2011 if they had made both a current year and a deferred entry choice, which may result in some applicants being counted twice. 5. "Unplaced applicants" will include: individuals who do not receive any offer; individuals who receive an offer (conditional or unconditional) but decide not to go to university in either 2010 or 2011; and individuals who receive a conditional offer and fail to meet the specific conditions (eg they do not achieve certain grades).  Source: UCAS

Internet

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which officials from his Department attended the fifth annual Internet Governance Forum meeting; and what the outcome was of discussions at that meeting.

Edward Vaizey: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 22 October 2010,  Official Report, column 916W.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when he plans to reply to the letter of 13 September 2010 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton on Ms D Burton.

Edward Davey: We regret that we could find no record of his correspondence. The right hon. Member kindly sent me the correspondence again, and I can confirm that the matters raised by his constituent are the responsibility of the Department for Education.
	I understand that the right hon. Member has also sent his constituent's concerns to that Department and I can confirm that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education will respond.

Paternity Leave

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the answer of 13 October 2010,  Official Report, column 335W, on paternity leave, how many business owners employing fewer than 10 people were spoken to directly regarding the policy on additional paternity leave.

Edward Davey: A consultation on additional paternity leave was launched in September 2009 ahead of the introduction to Parliament of draft regulations introducing additional paternity leave. All business owners were given the opportunity to respond to the consultation.
	Of the 111 responses received, 4.5% were from business owners with 0-9 employees.
	Further details on the responses to the consultation can be found at
	www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/employment-matters/docs/10-567-additional-paternity-leave-response.pdf
	Previous consultations took place in 2005, 2006 and 2008 on proposals to introduce additional paternity leave to which all business owners were invited to respond.

Postgraduate Education: Finance

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the potential effects of implementation of the Browne Review recommendations on funding for  (a) the teaching of postgraduate study and  (b) postgraduate student maintenance; and if he will make a statement.

David Willetts: The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) will receive its annual grant letter setting out its allocation of teaching grant and other funding lines for 2011-12 by January 2011. Lord Browne considered the student support regime for postgraduate students. However, he concluded that no changes were required as there was little evidence of a detrimental impact on access to postgraduate education. They will however continue to benefit from access to Professional and Career Development Loans.

Royal Mail

Guy Opperman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent representations he has received on the future ownership of the Royal Mail; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Davey: The Government have discussed developments in the postal market and Royal Mail's role in that market with a range of interested parties, including Royal Mail, the unions, other mail operators, Postcomm, Ofcom and Consumer Focus in recent months. We also asked Richard Hooper to update his independent report on the future of the universal service. Our policy on ownership was set out in the policy statement that we published alongside introduction of the Postal Services Bill on 13 October.
	Copies of this statement "Delivering for the future-a universal mail service and community post offices in the digital age" were laid in the House Libraries and it can also be viewed on the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills website at:
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/business-sectors/docs/d/10-1206-delivering-universal-mail-service-community-post-offices.pdf

Students: Fees and Charges

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether his Department has modelled the effects on the disposable income of new students aged over 30 years of increasing tuition fees to  (a) £7,000,  (b) £8,000,  (c) £9,000,  (d) £10,000,  (e) £11,000 and  (f) £12,000 per annum.

David Willetts: Income contingent student loan borrowers are not required to pay back their loan until the April after they finish their course. Repayments are based on 9% of income above the threshold of £15,000 per annum (or monthly/weekly equivalent). The following table provides examples of how much a borrower would expect to repay each month based on repayments of 9% of income over the current £15,000 threshold; and how much a borrower may expect to repay if the threshold was raised to £21,000, as proposed in the Browne review of higher education funding and student finance.
	Repayments are linked directly to a borrower's income and not the size of the loan, hence the size of the loan does not affect the borrower's disposable income.
	
		
			  £ 
			   Monthly repayments 
			  Annual income  £15,000 threshold (current)  £21,000 threshold (Browne proposal) 
			 £15,000 0.00 0.00 
			 £18,000 22.50 0.00 
			 £21,000 45.00 0.00 
			 £25,000 75.00 30.00 
			 £30,000 112.50 67.50 
			 £50,000 262.50 217.50

CABINET OFFICE

Departmental Sick Leave

John Stevenson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many days on average were lost to sickness in organisations in the  (a) private and  (b) public sector in (i) 2008 and (ii) 2009.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated October 2010:
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your question concerning how many days on average were lost to sickness in organisations in (a) the private and (b) the public sector in (i) 2008 and (ii) 2009. 019353.
	Data concerning the number of days lost to sickness are not available from ONS surveys.

Jobseeker's Allowance

John Stevenson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people in  (a) the UK,  (b) Cumbria and  (c) Carlisle constituency have been in receipt of jobseeker's allowance since January 2010.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated October 2010:
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many people in (a) the UK, (b) the county of Cumbria and (c) Carlisle constituency have been in receipt of jobseeker's allowance since January 2010. (017800)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles the number of claimants of Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) from the Jobcentre Plus administrative system.
	Table 1 shows the number of persons resident in (a) the UK, (b) the county of Cumbria and, (c) Carlisle constituency who were in receipt of JSA in each month since January 2010. The data have been provided from January 2010 to the latest available period up to September 2010.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk
	
		
			  Table 1. Number of persons claiming jobseeker's allowance residing in the UK, the county of Cumbria and Carlisle constituency 
			  2010  UK  Cumbria  Carlisle 
			 January 1,654,025 8,786 1,852 
			 February 1,657,041 8,791 1,827 
			 March 1,614,852 8,452 1,767 
			 April 1,568,128 8,216 1,735 
			 May 1,502,155 7,901 1,756 
			 June 1,444,096 7,572 1,694 
			 July 1,441,035 7,639 1,713 
			 August 1,456,023 7,803 1,698 
			 September 1,439,601 7,595 1,656 
			  Source: Jobcentre Plus administrative system.

Personnel

Graham Evans: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what plans the Government has to reduce its costs by sharing human resource services between departments and agencies.

Francis Maude: The Government are committed to reducing the cost of human resource services by implementing new shared arrangements for the delivery of core functions, including learning and development, HR policy development and e-resourcing, across Departments and agencies from the next financial year.

Public Bodies: Procurement

John Pugh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what plans he has to reduce the cost to public bodies of the procurement process.

Francis Maude: To reduce the cost of the procurement process to public bodies we are centralising the procurement of common goods and services across government, using our combined purchasing power to get the best value for every pound we spend.
	We will be acting on the recommendations made by Sir Philip Green, and have begun work to streamline and accelerate the procurement process, to reduce costs to departments and suppliers and therefore secure the efficient delivery of future contracts.
	To reduce the costs to the public purse of current contracts we have implemented a programme of structured negotiations with the major suppliers to Government to identify immediate and sustainable cost reductions.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Elections: Expenditure

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what recent estimate he has made of the costs of holding elections to the House of Commons under  (a) first-past-the-post and  (b) proportional representation systems.

Mark Harper: Based on the information set out in the Parliamentary Elections (Returning Officers' Charges) Order 2010 the estimated cost of holding a stand-alone UK parliamentary election in Great Britain under the first past the post system is £89.6 million.
	The Government have not made any estimate of the cost of conducting elections to the House of Commons under a proportional representation system.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Departmental Disciplinary Proceedings

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many officials in his Department have been  (a) subject to disciplinary action,  (b) removed from post,  (c) transferred to another position and  (d) dismissed for matters relating to their (i) disciplinary record and (ii) performance in each year since his Department's inception.

Gregory Barker: We are unable to provide information requested about dismissals as totals of five or less are suppressed on the grounds of confidentiality under section 40 of the Data Protection Act. However staff may be dismissed for poor performance, poor attendance, gross misconduct or repeated misconduct
	We are unable to provide the other information requested as responsibility for commencing capability and minor disciplinary procedures rests with line management across the Department. No records have been collated centrally regarding how many procedures are initiated in the Department since its inception in October 2008.

HEALTH

Tobacco: Sales

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues on the implementation of the provisions in the Health Act 2009 in respect of the  (a) prohibition of sales of tobacco products from vending machines and  (b) prohibition of point of sale tobacco displays; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State regularly meets with his entire ministerial team and colleagues across government to discuss a range of matters, including those relating to public health.

Autism: Children

David Nuttall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to reduce the average age at which autism in children is diagnosed.

Paul Burstow: The Department has commissioned specific training from the Royal College of Psychiatrists and the British Psychological Society on the recognition, diagnosis and health needs of people with autism presenting to mental health services. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence is currently developing a clinical guideline on autism spectrum disorders in children and young people. This will be based on a thorough assessment of the available evidence.

Carers: Learning Disabilities

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps he plans to take to assist  (a) elderly carers and  (b) other people with learning disabilities;
	(2)  what mechanisms his Department has in place to assist carers who wish to make contingency plans for circumstances in which they predecease the person for whom they are caring;
	(3)  what assistance his Department provides for carers of people with learning disabilities who are from black and minority ethnic communities.

Paul Burstow: The coalition Government continue to support the aims of the Valuing People Now programme, originally published in January 2009. This sets out the cross Government commitment to help people with learning disabilities have control over their lives and the care they receive. The three top priorities continue to be health, housing and employment.
	The Department is also currently updating the Carers Strategy. The revised strategy will outline ways in which all carers, including older carers and those from ethnic minority communities, can be supported in their caring role. Carers often feel more comfortable seeking advice and support from a voluntary sector and the Department funds a number of voluntary organisations who offer support to older carers and carers from ethnic minority communities.
	There are a number of voluntary sector organisations who support families to make contingency arrangements for the ongoing care of someone after the death of their carer. For example, MENCAP offer advice about wills and setting up trusts. They also support local voluntary organisations, enabling them to provide advice to families within their local communities.

Clinical Wastes: Recycling

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the potential to increase the proportion of medically related waste that is recycled.

Simon Burns: The Department collects data on national health service related waste disposal and recycling rates through the Estates Returns Information Collection system. Data analysis shows a significant increase in recycling from 11% in 2008-09 to 18% for 2009-10, with a corresponding reduction in waste disposal as follows:
	
		
			  Waste disposal route  Percentage reduction from 2008-09 to 2009-10 
			 High temperature disposal 1.7 
			 Alternative non-burn technology 2.8 
			 Landfill 13.1 
		
	
	The Department provides guidance on the management of waste in 'Health Technical Memorandum: 07-01 Safe management of healthcare waste', which has already been placed in the Library.
	The Government will incentivise waste producers to reduce their waste through a number of measures including the landfill tax and legislation covering the polluter pays principle, which will give waste producers greater responsibility for waste production and their choice to use sustainable waste management options. The White Paper, 'Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS', empowers providers, giving them more autonomy and, in return, making them more accountable for the results they achieve to the public at local level.

Health Services: Young People

Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will review the process used to classify as children or adults 15 and 16-year-olds who are receiving continuous health treatment for an ongoing condition.

Anne Milton: The national health service manages transitions for children with long-term conditions from child to adult services flexibly, starting at an age suitable for each child, taking account of individual circumstances and the need to ensure there is a period over which the transition can be successfully managed. If need be the transitional period may continue into the early twenties.
	The Framework for Children and Young People's Continuing Care contains guidance on conducting an assessment of continuing care needs for those under the age of 18. It defines continuing care as
	"a continuing care package will be required when a child or young person has needs arising from disability, accident, or illness that cannot be met by existing universal or specialist services alone."
	It also contains guidance on managing the transition from child to adult services, and makes clear that children's continuing care teams should identify those young people for whom it is likely that adult NHS continuing health care will be necessary and notify the relevant primary care trust (PCT) who will hold adult responsibility for them. Such young people should be identified when they reach the age of 14. This should be followed by a formal referral for screening at age 16 to the adult continuing health care team at the relevant PCT.

Hospitals: Food

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department spent on NHS hospital food in each of the last three years  (a) in total and  (b) per patient per meal.

Simon Burns: The information is not available in the format requested. However, data provided to the Department show the gross cost of patient food services and the average cost of feeding one patient per day. Information for the last three years is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  £ 
			   Gross cost of patient food services  Average cost of feeding one patient per day 
			 2007-08 311,401,537 6.97 
			 2008-09 439,531,088 7.95 
			 2009-10 474,658,506 8.06 
		
	
	For 2007-08 the data supply relating to patient food services was voluntary. From 2008-09, the data supply became mandatory for all national health service organisations with the exception of NHS foundation trusts. The information has been supplied by the NHS and has not been amended centrally. The accuracy and completeness of the information is the responsibility of the provider organisation.

Medical Treatments

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many stenting procedures in the  (a) iliac arteries,  (b) femoral arteries and  (c) arteries below the knee have taken place in each NHS trust in the latest year for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many percutaenous transluminal angioplasty procedures of the  (a) iliac arteries,  (b) femoral arteries and  (c) arteries below the knee have taken place in each NHS trust in the latest year for which figures are available;
	(3)  how many renal stenting procedures have taken place in each NHS trust in the latest year for which figures are available;
	(4)  how many carotid stenting procedures have taken place in each NHS trust in the latest year for which figures are available.

Simon Burns: The data have been placed in the Library due to the length of the response. Reference should be made to the footnotes and clinical codes section when interpreting the data.

Monitor

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the oral statement of 14 October 2010,  Official Report, columns 505-6, on public bodies reform, what the functions of Monitor are; which additional functions it will assume when it becomes an economic regulator; and from which bodies these functions will be transferred.

Simon Burns: Monitor's function as independent regulator of NHS foundation trusts (FTs) is set out in the National Health Service Act 2006. The Government have set out their proposal in the consultation document; "Liberating the NHS: Regulating Healthcare providers (July 2010)" which is to develop Monitor into an economic regulator for health and adult social care.
	Subject to legislation, Monitor's role would change significantly and consequently, Monitor would not retain all of its existing powers as the regulator of FTs, but would extend its role in relation to providers more generally.
	Monitor's overarching duty would be to protect the interests of patients and the public in the provision of health and adult social care services, by promoting competition where appropriate, and through regulation where necessary, including price regulation.
	Monitor would be required to take a consistent approach to licensing and regulation of all providers.

NHS: Leasing

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the amount spent by the NHS on renting equipment in each of the last three years.

Simon Burns: The information requested, for 2007-08 and 2008-09, is in the following table.
	
		
			  Amounts charged to expenditure in respect of the hire of plant and machinery 
			  £000 
			   2008-09  2007-08 
			 Primary care trusts 14,008 11,477 
			 Strategic health authorities 593 486 
			 National health service trusts 55,507 60,250 
			  Source: NHS (England) Summarised Account 2008-09 and 2007-08 
		
	
	Figures for plant and machinery were not disclosed separately in the 2009-10 NHS Summarised Accounts following the implementation of International Financial Reporting Standards.

Social Services: Learning Disability

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to ensure that the social care budget is adequate to meet the needs of adults with a learning disability; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has for the future of the Learning Disabilities Development Fund after March 2011.

Paul Burstow: The Learning Disabilities Development Fund forms part of the personal social services grant, which is currently allocated from the Department to local authorities. The personal social services grant will increase by £1 billion in real terms by 2014-15. However, to reduce the administration burdens and increase flexibility for local authorities, after March 2011 this grant will be rolled into local government formula grant.
	The coalition Government have allocated an additional £2 billion by 2014-15 to support the delivery of social care. This means, with a realistic programme of efficiency, that there is sufficient funding available both to protect people's access to services, meet demographic pressures and deliver new approaches to improve quality and outcomes. We expect that this will benefit all users of social care services, including people with learning disabilities.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Criminal Records Bureau

Simon Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average time taken for a Criminal Records Bureau check was in  (a) each of the last five years and  (b) each of the last three months in 2009.

Lynne Featherstone: Please find following table detailing the average waiting time in days for both Standard and Enhanced Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) Checks in the financial years 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10 and for the months of October, November and December 2009.
	Data are not held in relation to the financial years 2005-06 and 2006-07.
	
		
			  D ays 
			  Financial year/month  Standard disclosures average turnaround  Enhanced disclosures average turnaround 
			 2007-08 6.3 20.5 
			 2008-09 7.5 26.3 
			 2009-10 6.1 24.1 
			
			 October 2009 6.8 22.6 
			 November 2009 8.2 22.7 
			 December 2009 8.2 24.5 
		
	
	The length of time a CRB check can take to process can include "time out with customer". This occurs when the CRB has to contact the Registered Body for additional information about the applicant, when the application form has not been completed correctly or where the police require additional clarification about the applicant's identity. The CRB cannot continue to process the application until the Registered Body provides this information; or the applicant resolves any question of identity to the satisfaction of the police force.
	There are a number of other factors that can affect the timely completion of CRB checks, including but not restricted to the length of time it can take for an employer to deal with the initial application; the accurate completion of the application form; the clarity of the information provided; the existence of conviction or non-conviction information; any ongoing or outstanding criminal investigations or proceedings; where more than one force holds relevant information and the operational effectiveness of the Disclosure Units of the police forces involved in the CRB checking process.
	The CRB have been working with police forces through joint operational performance reviews, to address the problems associated with delays and the impact that exceptional demand for CRB checks can have on police forces. The CRB has set up improvement plans with those forces that have been having problems meeting the demand for certificates.
	This is aimed at maintaining a steady output of applications on the system while also reducing the number of outstanding cases that have been with police forces for more than 25 days.

Freedom Bill

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what timetable she has set for bringing forward her proposals for a Freedom Bill; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 26 October 2010
	As announced in the Queen's speech, the Government will bring forward a Freedom Bill in the current parliamentary session.

Immigration: Detention Centres

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) children and  (b) families have been held in (i) immigration detention, (ii) short-term holding units and (iii) mother-and-baby units in prisons in each month of 2010 to date.

Damian Green: holding answer 26 October 2010
	Local management information shows children and families entering detention held solely under Immigration Act Powers (excluding Harwich), January to June 2010(1,2,3,4,5), as follows:
	
		
			   UK Border Agency removal centres  UK Border Agency short-term holding facilities( 6)  HM Prison mother and baby units 
			  2010  Children  Families  Children  Families  Children  Families 
			 January 85 45 10 - - - 
			 February 70 40 - - - - 
			 March 65 25 - - - - 
			 April 50 30 - - - - 
			 May 40 15 - - - - 
			 June 25 15 * * * * 
			  Notes: 1. These figures are based on management information and are not subject to the detailed checks that apply for National Statistics. They are provisional and may be subject to change 2. Some detainees may be recorded more than once if, for example, the person has been detained on more than one separate occasion in the time period shown, such as a person who has left detention, but has subsequently been re-detained. 3. Figures rounded to the nearest five ('-' = 0, * = one or two) 4. Figures exclude persons recorded as entering Harwich short-term holding facility, police cells and those recorded as detained under both criminal and immigration powers and their dependants. 5. Figures will overstate if any applicants aged 18 or over claim to be younger. 6. Dover Harbour, Colnbrook Short Term, Pennine House 
		
	
	Information on children detained solely under Immigration Act powers Q3 2010 will be available on 25 November in the Control of Immigration: Quarterly Statistical Summary, United Kingdom, July to September 2010 on the Home Office's Research, Development and Statistics website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

British Nationals Abroad: Prisoners

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in respect of how many cases relating to  (a) British prisoners and  (b) political prisoners abroad his Department is involved.

Jeremy Browne: Following are the latest detainee figures which show a snap shot of the British nationals in detention whom we have assisted, as of 31 March 2010. We do not hold a separate figure for political prisoners.
	
		
			  Half-yearly detainee figures: 31 March 2010 
			  Country  FCO post  Male  Female  Total 
			 Afghanistan Kabul 6 0 6 
			 Albania Tirana 3 0 3 
			 Algeria Algiers 1 0 1 
			 Angola Luanda 0 0 0 
			 Argentina Buenos Aires 9 3 12 
			 Armenia Yerevan 0 0 0 
			 Australia Sydney 111 3 114 
			  Brisbane 59 3 62 
			  Canberra 0 0 0 
			  Perth 18 2 20 
			  Melbourne 84 7 91 
			 Austria Vienna 3 1 4 
			 Azerbaijan Baku 1 0 1 
			 Bahrain Bahrain 2 0 2 
			 Bangladesh Dhaka 0 0 0 
			 Barbados Bridgetown 6 7 13 
			  St Vincents and Grenadines 0 0 0 
			  St Kitts 1 0 1 
			  Antigue 5 0 5 
			  Grenada 1 5 6 
			  Dominica 1 0 1 
			 Belarus Minsk 0 0 0 
			 Belgium Brussels 12 0 12 
			 Belize Belmopan 0 0 0 
			 Bolivia La Paz 1 1 2 
			 Bosnia and Herzegovina Sarajevo 0 0 0 
			 Botswana Gaborone 0 0 0 
			 Brazil Brasilia 2 0 2 
			  Rio de Janeiro 8 4 12 
			  Sao Paulo 13 10 23 
			 Brunei Bandar Seri Begawan 0 0 0 
			 Bulgaria Sofia 1 0 1 
			 Burma Rangoon 0 0 0 
			 Cambodia Phnom Penh 8 0 8 
			 Cameroon Yaounde 0 0 0 
			 Canada Ottawa 1 0 1 
			  Montreal 3 0 3 
			  Toronto 17 1 18 
			  Vancouver 12 0 12 
			 Chile Santiago 1 0 1 
			 China Beijing 2 0 2 
			  Chongqing 0 0 0 
			  Shanghai 3 0 3 
			  Guangzhou 1 1 2 
			  Hong Kong 15 4 19 
			 Colombia Bogota 4 0 4 
			  Cali 0 0 0 
			  Cartagena 0 0 0 
			  Medellin 0 0 0 
			 Congo (Democratic Rep) Kinshasa 1 0 1 
			 Costa Rica San Jose 3 0 3 
			 Croatia Zagreb 1 0 1 
			 Cuba Havana 0 0 0 
			 Cyprus Nicosia 11 0 11 
			 Czech Republic Prague 1 0 1 
			 Denmark Copenhagen 3 0 3 
			 Dominican Republic Santo Domingo 12 2 14 
			 Ecuador Quito 8 2 10 
			 Egypt Alexandria 0 0 0 
			  Cairo 21 3 24 
			 Eritrea Asmara 0 0 0 
			 Estonia Tallinn 2 0 2 
			 Ethiopia Addis Ababa 3 3 6 
			 Fiji Suva 1 0 1 
			 Finland Helsinki 1 0 1 
			 France Bordeaux 19 0 19 
			  Lille 37 0 37 
			  Lyon 6 1 7 
			  Marseille 13 0 13 
			  Paris 55 2 57 
			 Gambia Banjul 1 1 2 
			 Georgia Tbilisi 0 0 0 
			 Germany Berlin 56 1 57 
			  Dusseldorf 46 6 52 
			  Munich 14 1 15 
			 Ghana Accra 5 0 5 
			 Greece Athens 13 2 15 
			  Corfu 0 0 0 
			  Heraklion 1 0 1 
			  Rhodes 0 0 0 
			  Thessaloniki 0 0 0 
			  Zakynthos 0 0 0 
			 Guatemala Guatemala City 2 0 2 
			 Guyana Georgetown 3 3 6 
			  Suriname 1 1 2 
			 Hungary Budapest 1 0 1 
			 Iceland Reykjavik 0 0 0 
			 India Chennai 0 0 0 
			  Kolkata 0 0 0 
			  Mumbai 4 0 4 
			  New Delhi 8 0 8 
			  Goa 2 0 2 
			 Indonesia Jakarta 11 0 11 
			 Iran Tehran 1 1 2 
			 Iraq Baghdad 2 0 2 
			 Ireland Dublin 90 11 101 
			 Israel Tel Aviv 1 0 1 
			 Italy Florence 3 0 3 
			  Milan 9 2 11 
			  Naples 7 0 7 
			  Venice 3 0 3 
			  Rome 9 2 11 
			 Jamaica Kingston 41 24 65 
			 Japan Tokyo 16 3 19 
			  Osaka 10 0 10 
			 Jerusalem Jerusalem 0 0 0 
			 Jordan Amman 0 0 0 
			 Kazakhstan Almaty 0 0 0 
			 Kenya Nairobi 2 0 2 
			 Korea (North) Pyongyang 0 0 0 
			 Korea (South) Seoul 1 0 1 
			 Kuwait Kuwait City 8 3 11 
			 Latvia Riga 1 0 1 
			 Lebanon Beirut 0 1 1 
			 Libya Tripoli 0 0 0 
			 Lithuania Vilnius 0 0 0 
			 Luxembourg Luxembourg 3 0 3 
			 Macedonia Skopje 0 0 0 
			 Malawi Lilongwe 0 0 0 
			 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur 2 0 2 
			 Malta Valletta 8 1 9 
			 Mauritius Port Louis 0 0 0 
			 Mexico Mexico City 0 1 1 
			  Cancun 0 0 0 
			 Moldova Chisinau 0 0 0 
			 Mongolia Ulaanbaatar 1 0 1 
			 Montenegro Podgorica 1 0 1 
			 Morocco Rabat 3 0 3 
			  Marrakech 0 0 0 
			  Tangier 6 2 8 
			 Mozambique Maputo 0 0 0 
			 Namibia Windhoek 1 0 1 
			 Nepal Kathmandu 1 0 1 
			 Netherlands Amsterdam 32 1 33 
			 New Zealand Wellington 7 0 7 
			 Nigeria Lagos 0 0 0 
			 Norway Oslo 30 4 34 
			 Oman Muscat 5 0 5 
			 Pakistan Islamabad 25 0 25 
			  Karachi 2 0 2 
			 Panama Panama City 8 2 10 
			 Papua New Guinea Port Moresby 0 1 1 
			 Peru Lima 31 3 34 
			 Philippines Manila 19 0 19 
			 Poland Warsaw 3 0 3 
			 Portugal Lisbon 13 1 14 
			  Oporto 1 2 3 
			  Funchal 6 0 6 
			  Portimao 2 0 2 
			 Qatar Doha 4 0 4 
			 Romania Bucharest 4 0 4 
			 Russia Moscow 0 0 0 
			  St Petersburg 0 0 0 
			  Ekaterinburg 0 0 0 
			 Rwanda Kigali 0 0 0 
			 St Lucia Castries 4 0 4 
			 Saudi Arabia Riyadh 3 0 3 
			 Senegal Dakar 3 0 3 
			 Serbia Belgrade 3 0 3 
			  Pristina 0 0 0 
			 Seychelles Victoria 0 0 0 
			 Sierra Leone Freetown 1 0 1 
			 Singapore Singapore 4 0 4 
			 Slovakia Bratislava 1 0 1 
			 Slovenia Ljubljana 2 0 2 
			 Solomon Islands Honiara 0 0 0 
			 South Africa Cape Town 6 1 7 
			  Pretoria 6 2 8 
			 Spain Alicante 36 2 38 
			  Barcelona 22 2 24 
			  Ibiza 9 0 9 
			  Las Palmas 13 0 13 
			  Madrid 70 8 78 
			  Malaga 144 5 149 
			  Palma 18 0 18 
			  Tenerife 16 1 17 
			 Sri Lanka Colombo 4 0 4 
			 Sudan Khartoum 0 0 0 
			 Sweden Stockholm 22 2 24 
			 Switzerland Berne 6 0 6 
			  Geneva 3 0 3 
			 Syria Damascus 5 1 6 
			 Taiwan Taipei 18 0 18 
			 Tajikistan Dushanbe 0 0 0 
			 Tanzania Dar es Salaam 1 0 1 
			 Thailand Bangkok 87 1 88 
			  Chiang Mai 2 0 2 
			  Laos 1 0 1 
			 Trinidad and Tobago Port of Spain 7 7 14 
			 Tunisia Tunis 2 1 3 
			 Turkey Ankara 3 0 3 
			  Bodrum 3 3 6 
			  Istanbul 4 5 9 
			  Izmir 1 0 1 
			  Antalya 3 0 3 
			  Marmaris 2 0 2 
			  Fethiye 0 0 0 
			 Turkmenistan Ashgabat 0 0 0 
			 Uganda Kampala 0 0 0 
			 Ukraine Kiev 0 0 0 
			 United Arab Emirates Abu Dhabi 18 1 19 
			  Dubai 33 3 36 
			 USA Atlanta 61 7 68 
			  Boston 31 2 33 
			  Chicago 32 4 36 
			  Houston 84 4 88 
			  Los Angeles 95 6 101 
			  New York 87 8 95 
			  Orlando 89 18 107 
			  San Francisco 79 8 87 
			  Washington 32 5 37 
			 Uruguay Montevideo 0 0 0 
			 Uzbekistan Tashkent 1 0 1 
			 Venezuela Caracas 11 3 14 
			 Vietnam Hanoi 1 1 2 
			 Yemen Sanaa 1 0 1 
			 Zambia Lusaka 0 0 0 
			 Zimbabwe Harare 0 0 0 
			  
			 Total 219 2,393 256 2,649

British Nationals Abroad: Prisoners

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department spent in respect of the cases of British prisoners held in prison in each country in the latest year for which figures are available.

Jeremy Browne: Figures for the amount of money spent on British prisoners held overseas are not centrally recorded.
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office provide assistance to all British nationals detained overseas. This assistance includes: contacting the prisoner within 24 hours of being informed of their detention and visiting them (if they so request) as soon as possible afterwards; keeping in contact with a prisoner's family or friends; taking an interest in the prisoner's welfare; and offering information about the local prison system to the prisoner and their family.
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office work closely with the non-governmental organisation Prisoners Abroad. It supports the welfare of British citizens in detention overseas.

Departmental Disciplinary Proceedings

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many officials in his Department have been  (a) subject to disciplinary action,  (b) removed from post,  (c) transferred to another position and  (d) dismissed for matters relating to their (i) disciplinary record and (ii) performance in each year since 1997.

Alistair Burt: Records are only available in the form requested for UK based Foreign and Commonwealth officials. Records for overseas-based officials are not held in the form requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	The number of officials who have been  (a) subject to disciplinary action in each year since 1997 are:
	
		
			   Number of officials 
			 1997 37 
			 1998 28 
			 1999 20 
			 2000 8 
			 2001 15 
			 2002 7 
			 2003 27 
			 2004 5 
			 2005 16 
			 2006 25 
			 2007 18 
			 2008 31 
			 2009 33 
			 2010 27 
		
	
	The details requested at  (b) and  (c) are not held centrally or available in the form requested and would be available only at a disproportionate cost.
	As there are fewer than five dismissals for matters relating to  (d) (i) disciplinary record in each year since 1997, details are withheld on the grounds of confidentiality.
	Central records for matters relating to  (d) (ii) have only been maintained since 2006. As there are fewer than five dismissals in each year since records have been maintained, details are withheld on the grounds of confidentiality.

Middle East: Peace Negotiations

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the implications of the provisions of (a) the Treaty of Sèvres and  (b) Article 80 of the UN Charter for negotiations on the Middle East Peace process.

Alistair Burt: The best way to achieve the goal of a sustainable two-state solution is through a negotiated settlement. We do not believe that the treaty of Sèvres or article 80 of the United Nations charter are relevant to this process.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Affordable Housing: Warrington

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the number of affordable homes which will be built in Warrington in the next four years as a result of the proposals announced in the Comprehensive Spending Review.

Grant Shapps: The Department does not forecast levels of future house building and delivery will be determined by local housing plans. We announced in the spending review almost £4.5 billion investment for new affordable housing, which through a new delivery model is expected to deliver up to 155,000 new affordable homes over this spending period.

Child Benefit: Overseas Residence

Conor Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his most recent estimate is of the average annual cost to the public purse of payments of child benefit to children resident in  (a) other EU member states and  (b) countries outside the EU.

David Gauke: I have been asked to reply.
	Information about the payment of child benefit for children resident outside the UK is available only at disproportionate cost. Entitlement to child benefit is generally reliant on the child in question being present in the UK. There are limited exceptions set out in UK and European Community (EC) law, for example when the child is receiving medical treatment anywhere abroad for an illness or disability which began before that child left the UK or when the person claiming child benefit is working in the UK and paying compulsory UK national insurance contributions and their family is living in another member state of the European economic area (EEA).

Departmental Contracts

Andrew Bingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of quality management statements in assisting with contract decisions by his Department; and what assessment he has made of the effects on the prospects for small businesses of winning contracts of such statements.

Bob Neill: Although quality management statements are considered during the evaluation of tenders no overall assessment has been made of their effectiveness on contract award.
	Although 16% of the DCLG's spend last year was with small and medium-sized enterprises, the Department recognises that it can be difficult for these enterprises to win central Government contracts for a variety of reasons. It is, therefore, taking steps to ensure that small and medium-sized enterprises can be used as second-tier suppliers. In particular we will be incorporating the best practice in the Office of Government Commerce guidance into our processes and systems.

Departmental Expenditure Limits

David Mowat: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the per capita level of his Department's Capital Departmental Expenditure Limit allocated in  (a) London and  (b) the North West in each year of the Comprehensive Spending Review period;
	(2)  how much and what proportion of his Department's Capital Departmental Expenditure Limit will be allocated to  (a) London and  (b) the North West in each year of the Comprehensive Spending Review period;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of his Department's capital Departmental Expenditure Limit per head in  (a) London and  (b) the North West in each year of the Comprehensive Spending Review period.

Bob Neill: The data requested for the spending review 2010 are not yet available. The Department is at present working through its settlement in order to allocate the resources available. This process will be completed in due course. We expect to complete this exercise well in advance of the start of the next financial year (1 April 2011).
	After the Department has allocated the spending review settlement, these data will be used to complete the Country and Regional Analysis:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/pespub_pesa10.htm#cra
	in the 2012 exercise. It should be noted that these allocations comprise planned expenditure only, and are therefore subject to change. Due to the statistical nature of the analysis, the subsequent analysis is open to interpretation and is not designated as "National Statistics".

Departmental Manpower

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department has spent on  (a) consultants,  (b) agency staff and  (c) fixed-term contractors in the last five months; and whether he has made an estimate of his Department's expenditure on such personnel in (i) the remainder of 2010-11 and (ii) each of the subsequent four financial years.

Bob Neill: Under the initiative to open up Government spending over £500, details of the Department's expenditure, including consultants and agency staff (fixed-term contractors will appear under agency staff), have already been published for the first quarter of 2010-11 and can be found here:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/spendingdata1011
	Figures for the next quarter will be published at the end of October.
	Forecast spend for the remaining six months of 2010-11 is £0.7 million for contract and agency staff and £6.7 million for consultancies. However, we have introduced stringent controls which are likely to reduce expenditure in these areas.
	There is a moratorium in place on consultancy expenditure over £20,000, exemptions to which can only be authorised by the Permanent Secretary. There is also a vacancy freeze which prohibits the recruitment of interim or agency staff unless authorised by the Secretary of State.
	No estimates have been made for the subsequent four years.

Departmental Sick Leave

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many officials in his Department have had  (a) fewer than five days,  (b) five to 10 days,  (c) 10 to 15 days,  (d) 15 to 20 days,  (e) 20 to 25 days,  (f) 25 to 50 days,  (g) 50 to 75 days,  (h) 75 to 100 days,  (i) 100 to 150 days,  (j) 150 to 200 days,  (k) more than 200 days,  (l) more than three months,  (m) more than six months and  (n) one year on paid sick leave (i) consecutively and (ii) in total in each year since 1997.

Bob Neill: The Department for Communities and Local Government was formed in May 2006 and the following tables detail the total and consecutive days lost to staff sickness in the main Department in each financial year since that date up to and including 30 September 2010.
	
		
			  Total days sickness absence 
			  Number 
			   2006-07  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10  2010 to 30 September 
			 Less than 5 2,447 2,230 2,167 2,195 2,218 
			 5 to less than 10 273 292 272 271 126 
			 10 to less than 15 93 116 109 114 43 
			 15 to less than 20 49 66 54 51 23 
			 20 to less than 25 33 32 30 19 0 
			 25 to less than 50 80 62 56 44 49 
			 50 to less than 75 13 34 29 30 12 
			 75 to less than 100 14 9 7 10 7 
			 100 to less than 150 15 19 14 12 6 
			 150 to less than 200 5 1 3 3 2 
			 More than 200 0 4 3 2 0 
		
	
	
		
			  Consecutive days sickness absence 
			  Number 
			   2006-07  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10  2010 to 30 September 
			 Less than 5 1,101 1,212 1,115 1,103 728 
			 5 to less than 10 206 205 210 203 92 
			 10 to less than 15 73 84 74 73 37 
			 15 to less than 20 42 39 30 20 18 
			 20 to less than 25 27 22 25 17 16 
			 25 to less than 50 49 45 41 38 24 
			 50 to less than 75 13 22 11 16 14 
			 75 to less than 100 7 10 9 7 4 
			 100 to less than 150 11 13 5 6 4 
			 150 to less than 200 2 0 3 4 2 
			 More than 200 0 4 3 1 0 
			 More than 3 months 22 33 22 21 17 
			 More than 6 months 5 6 7 5 3 
			 More than 1 year 0 3 2 0 0

Housing: East of England

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the average density of new housing in  (a) St Albans and  (b) the East of England in each of the last 10 years.

Andrew Stunell: The density of new housing in St Albans for 1994-97, 1998-2001, 2002-05 and 2006-09 is published in the Land Use Change Statistics Live Table P232, while the density of new housing in the East of England between 1999 and 2009 is published in the Land Use Change Statistics Live Table P231. Both of these tables can be accessed at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/planningandbuilding/planningbuilding/planningstatistics/livetables/landusechange/
	Note that the density of new housing at local authority level is only published as multi-year averages as it can be highly volatile at more frequent intervals.
	The abolition of Whitehall density targets by the new Government means that the appropriate level of density of new housing is now a matter for local determination.

Local Government

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will place in the Library a copy of the responses he has received from local authority chief executives and leaders to his letter requesting their views on reducing the burden of local government.

Bob Neill: We are unable to deposit the individual responses within the Library without incurring disproportionate cost. We will, however, provide copies of individual responses on request, in accordance with confidentiality, data protection and freedom of information requirements.

Local Government

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will bring forward proposals to devolve more powers to local authorities.

Greg Clark: I have been tasked by the Prime Minister to take forward the coalition's commitment to decentralise power away from Whitehall and towards local government, communities and individuals. Measures have already been announced including the removal of central burdens such as the comprehensive area assessment, the removal of centrally prescribed indicators and targets, and the abolition of the Standards Board.
	In order to free up local areas, funding to local authorities and delivery bodies will be radically simplified, giving them greater choice over how to use their money to meet the needs of local people. The forthcoming Localism Bill will introduce measures which empower local government, such as the general power of competence. I will be reporting to the Prime Minister in summer 2011 with an update on the progress the Government have made to push power down to the lowest possible level.

Planning: Sustainable Development

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which body will be responsible for providing advice on sustainability to his Department's new office for major planning decisions following the abolition of the Sustainable Development Commission.

Bob Neill: Both the town and country planning regime and the planning regime for major infrastructure provide for the integration of economic, social and environmental aspects of sustainable development into decisions on applications, and for consultation with a wide range of relevant organisations, including, for example, the Environment Agency, Natural England and relevant health authorities.

Social Rented Housing

John Stevenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of housing is  (a) social housing and  (b) private sector (i) owner-occupied and (ii) rented housing.

Andrew Stunell: The following table shows the proportion of social and private sector housing as at 1 April 2009 in England and is derived from live table 100 published at the Communities and Local Government website.
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/xls/table100.xls
	
		
			  Thousand 
			   Social housing   
			   Local authority  Registered social landlords  Other public sector  Private sector  
			   Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Total 
			 England 1,820 8 2,195 10 74 - 18,476 82 22,564 
			  Sources: Housing Flows Reconciliation and joint returns by local authorities; Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix (HSSA) submitted to Communities and Local Government by local authorities; Regulatory Statistical Return (RSR) as reported to the Tenant Services Authority (TSA) by registered social landlords. 
		
	
	Estimates on an equivalent basis are not available for the private rented and owner-occupied sectors.
	However, estimates of the proportion of the private rented and owner-occupied sectors are available in the Survey of English Housing (SEH). These figures are however not comparable to the figures shown in the answer, because the SEH is based on survey data and the figures in the answer to the PQ on administrative data.
	The web link to the latest published SHE data is:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/statistics/pdf/1479789.pdf

Social Rented Housing: Cumbria

John Stevenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of housing in Carlisle constituency is  (a) social housing and  (b) private sector (i) owner-occupied and (ii) rented housing.

Andrew Stunell: Statistics on dwelling stock are not collected at constituency level. Local authority level figures are published in Housing Statistics live table 100 at the Communities and Local Government website:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/xls/table100.xls
	The figures show stock by private, registered social landlords and local authority. Estimates are not available for the private rented and owner-occupied sectors.

Social Rented Housing: Cumbria

John Stevenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of housing in Cumbria is  (a) social housing and  (b) private sector (i) owner-occupied and (ii) rented housing.

Andrew Stunell: The following table shows for Cumbria the number and the proportion of dwellings by tenure at 1 April. The table is derived from live table 100 published at the Communities and Local Government website.
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/xls/table100.xls
	
		
			  Number 
			   Social housing
			   Local authority  Registered social landlords  Other public sector  Private sector  
			   Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Total 
			 Cumbria 5,940 3 26,560 11 210 - 201,550 86 234,260 
			  Sources: Housing Flows Reconciliation and joint returns by local authorities; Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix (HSSA) submitted to Communities and Local Government by local authorities; Regulatory Statistical Return (RSR) as reported to Tenant Services Authority (TSA) by registered social landlords. 
		
	
	Estimates are not available for the private rented and owner-occupied sectors.

TRANSPORT

Airlines

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will take steps to ensure that air fares advertised by low-cost airlines accurately reflect the cost to the consumer of flying.

Theresa Villiers: holding answer 26 October 2010
	Airlines are required by European rules on air fare transparency to indicate at all times the final price to be paid, including all applicable taxes, charges, surcharges and fees which are unavoidable and foreseeable at the time of publication. Any optional price supplements should be clearly communicated at the start of the booking process. We expect to introduce an enforcement regime for these requirements early in 2011, including penalties for non-compliance.

Bicycles: Trains

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 14 October 2010,  Official Report, column 408W, on bicycles, what mechanisms there are in place to encourage the use of folding bicycles; if he will use the same mechanisms to encourage the provision of additional capacity to allow more space for bikes to be carried on trains; and whether the remit of the Station Travel Plan pilot project covers the issue of provision for bicycles on trains.

Theresa Villiers: The 2007 Rail White Paper provided that future franchises would require the carriage of folding bikes at all times and non-folding bikes at the discretion of the relevant train operator. Decisions on how much capacity to provide on trains for storage of bicycles is a commercial one for individual train operators. The Department is currently monitoring the Station Travel Plan pilots being run by the rail industry which include a focus on improving the integration between rail and other transport modes including cycling. However, the specific question of provision of cycle space on trains is outside the pilot's remit.

Bus Services: Concessions

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has for future funding of concessionary bus passes for older people; and what assessment he has made of the likely effect of his policy in this respect on rural communities.

Norman Baker: Currently, the bulk of concessionary travel funding is provided through formula grant by Communities and Local Government, with the remainder provided through special grant from the Department for Transport. Special grant funding provided by DFT was only intended to cover the period from 2008-09 through to 2010-11. From April 2011 this funding will be subsumed into formula grant alongside the rest of the funding for concessionary travel.
	Communities and Local Government held a consultation, which closed on 6 October, on the distribution of formula grant to local authorities in England from 2010-11. The consultation process provided an opportunity for local authorities to influence decisions on the final distribution method. Consultation responses submitted by rural communities will be considered by Communities and Local Government in arriving at a final distribution method.

Departmental Carbon Emissions

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has made an estimate of the change in the level of carbon dioxide emissions from his Department since May 2010; and what steps he plans to take to meet his Department's target of reducing such emissions by 10 per cent. by May 2011.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport is committed to achieving the 10% carbon reduction target announced by the Prime Minister on 14 May this year, and I have had discussions with relevant officials to progress this.
	The Department has developed and published, through the Efficiency and Reform Group's Centre of Expertise in Sustainable Procurement, a plan that aims to deliver the savings required by the target. The latest data on performance, to the end of August, are publicly available on the data.gov.uk website at:
	http://data.gov.uk/departmental-performance-co2-emissions-reduction-date
	Performance data are reported monthly, within four weeks of the month end. The next data release (to the end of September 2010) will be available by the end of October 2010, and similarly published on the data.gov.uk website.
	Details on the reduction projects the Department for Transport is implementing or considering for implementation is available on the data.gov.uk website at:
	http://data.gov.uk/departmental-performance-co2-emissions-reduction-date
	This work programme will lead to reductions in our emissions from electricity, gas and fuel oil used on our office estate over the target period.

First Capital Connect

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent estimate he has made of the level of  (a) punctuality and  (b) overcrowding in respect of rail services on the First Capital Connect line between St Albans and London; and if he will make a statement.

Theresa Villiers: holding answer 26 October 2010
	I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on 14 July 2010,  Official Report, column 722W, in response to a similar question concerning punctuality and reliability and passengers in excess numbers for rail services on the St Albans to London route.
	The following table confirms Public Performance Measure details since the answer given on 14 July this year.
	
		
			   PPM  PPM MAA 
			 27 June to 24 July 2010 89.5 89.2 
			 25 July to 21 August 2010 93.4 89.3 
			 22 August to 18 September 2010 91.9 89.2 
			 PPM = Public Performance Measure. MAA = Moving Annual Average.

Large Goods Vehicles: Excise Duties

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to introduce a new system of HGV road user charges.

Michael Penning: The Government are committed to introducing a new system of HGV road user charging in the current Parliament.

Maritime and Coastguard Agency: Surveillance

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much the Maritime and Coastguard Agency has spent on surveillance flights to monitor pollution from shipping in the UK Counter Pollution Zone in the last 12 months.

Michael Penning: holding answer 26 October 2010
	The Maritime and Coastguard Agency spent £1,618,531 on surveillance flights in the period October 2009 to September 2010.

Winter Resilience Review

Nigel Adams: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department is taking to implement the recommendations of the July 2010 interim report of the Winter Resilience Review; and what plans he has to publish a guide on rights and liabilities in respect of the clearing of snow and ice.

Norman Baker: The Winter Resilience Review's interim report concentrated on actions that can be taken by local and national highways authorities, salt suppliers, the Government and others to improve resilience for the coming winter, as well as some longer term actions. The findings were welcomed by the Government and the Secretary of State for Transport instructed his officials to take forward recommendations directed at the Department for Transport and the Highways Agency. This included sourcing 250,000 tonnes of imported salt to establish and manage national strategic stockpiles, reflecting the exceptional re-stocking challenges for local highway authorities for this coming winter.
	Among its recommendations, the review panel recommended that this Department produce guidance for members of the public on clearing the footways outside their property. The Department in consultation with other interested Government Departments has published this guidance on the Directgov website at:
	www.direct.gov.uk

JUSTICE

Coroners

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the statement of 14 October 2010,  Official Report, column 36WS, on updating the coroner system, whether the improved training for coroners and their staff will be affected by the reductions in his Department's budget announced in the Spending Review 2010.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Ministry of Justice is developing firm plans to deliver priorities within the spending review settlement. Although no internal budgets have been set, I am committed to maintaining effective training for all who work within the coronial system, where financially possible.
	As part of our work to improve the coronial system, we will review the current training and determine how the existing budget may be better deployed for the benefit of all who work within the system.

Drugs

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will estimate the savings to the criminal justice system of the decriminalisation of drugs.

Crispin Blunt: Neither the MoJ nor the Home Office have carried out a systematic analysis of the financial impact on the criminal justice system of decriminalisation of illegal drugs. Such an analysis would be highly complicated to carry out, require considerable resources, and would not be justified against the background of the Government's clear position that decriminalisation of drugs would not be in the broader interests of the community or discourage the use of drugs.

Employment Tribunals Service

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many cases relating to each type of claim have been heard at employment tribunals in each of the last three years; and in how many such cases the tribunal ruled in favour of the claimant in each such year.

Jonathan Djanogly: The following tables list the number of claims heard by employment tribunals, broken down by type of claim (or 'jurisdiction') throughout Great Britain for the period 2007-10. They also show the number of those cases in which the claimant (rather than the respondent/employer) was successful.
	The first table excludes data in respect of default judgments (i.e. cases in which the claimant is awarded judgment on the basis that no, or no acceptable response has been received to the claim; or where the respondent states that it does not wish to resist the claim). The second table includes data in respect of default judgments.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of hearings at employment tribunals and number of successful claims 2006-07 to 2009-10 
			   Number of cases heard at tribunal( 1)  Claimant success at hearing( 2) 
			  All jurisdiction cases  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10 
			 Unfair dismissal 8,300 9,300 10,900 3,800 3,900 5,200 
			 Wages Act 5,900 7,400 7,800 3,900 4,600 5,000 
			 Breach of contract 6,100 7,700 8,600 3,900 4,600 5,800 
			 Redundancy pay 2,000 2,600 3,800 1,600 2,100 3,000 
			 Sex discrimination 1,300 1,100 1,100 470 340 340 
			 Race discrimination 840 1,100 1,100 120 130 130 
			 Disability discrimination 810 890 870 180 180 170 
			 Religious belief discrimination 140 170 170 14 19 19 
			 Sexual orientation discrimination 98 120 100 29 13 27 
			 Age discrimination 290 430 540 56 53 95 
			 Working time 3,500 4,100 5,100 2,500 2,900 3,600 
			 Equal pay 870 180 380 680 36 200 
			 National minimum wage 88 85 110 55 52 49 
			 Others 4,900 5,400 6,900 3,300 3,700 4,900 
			 All 35,200 40,600 47,400 20,600 22,700 28,500 
			 (1 )This excludes cases that were withdrawn, conciliated by ACAS, struck out without a hearing and default judgments. (2) Successful at hearing excludes default judgments.  Source: ET Annual Reports 2006-07 to 2009-10 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Number of hearings at employment tribunals and successful claims 2006-07 to 2009-10 including default judgments 
			   Number of cases heard at tribunal (including default judgments)( 3)  Successful at hearing (including default judgments) 
			  All jurisdiction cases  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10 
			 Unfair dismissal 8,900 10,000 12,400 4,400 4,600 6,600 
			 Wages Act 7,600 9,600 11,600 5,700 6,800 8,800 
			 Breach of contract 7,500 9,500 12,300 5,200 6,400 9,400 
			 Redundancy pay 2,800 3,700 6,400 2,400 3,200 5,500 
			 Sex discrimination 1,300 1,200 1,200 510 380 450 
			 Race discrimination 850 1,100 1,100 140 140 190 
			 Disability discrimination 820 920 930 190 200 230 
			 Religious belief discrimination 140 180 180 14 24 28 
			 Sexual orientation discrimination 100 130 110 31 15 37 
			 Age discrimination 300 450 570 65 71 130 
			 Working time 4,500 5,400 8,000 3,500 4,200 6,500 
			 Equal pay 870 180 390 680 38 210 
			 National minimum wage 130 96 130 97 63 75 
			 Others 5,300 5,800 8,000 3,700 4,200 6,000 
			 All 41,200 48,300 63,400 26,500 30,200 44,100 
			 (3) Excludes cases that were withdrawn, conciliated by ACAS and struck out without a hearing.  Source: ET Annual Reports 2006-07 to 2009-10

Magistrates Courts

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the rate of utilisation was of each magistrates court in the latest period for which figures are available.

Jonathan Djanogly: The information requested on utilisation rates of each magistrates court in England and Wales for the period April to June 2010 is within the following table:
	
		
			  Utilisation rates of each magistrates court in England and Wales for periods April  to  June 2010 
			  Courthouse  Courtroom utilisation (percentage) 
			 Aberdare 44.3 
			 Abertillery 47.4 
			 Aberystwyth 55.5 
			 Aldershot 69.5 
			 Alnwick 56.6 
			 Alton 63.8 
			 Ammanford 61.6 
			 Andover 21.4 
			 Ashford 62.5 
			 Aylesbury 88.4 
			 Banbury 77.2 
			 Barking (East Street) 69.1 
			 Barnsley 61.7 
			 Barnstaple 72.4 
			 Barrow in Furness 64.9 
			 Barry 54.1 
			 Basildon 67.6 
			 Basingstoke 82.8 
			 Bath 70.6 
			 Bedford 67.0 
			 Berwick upon Tweed 57.7 
			 Beverley 44.8 
			 Bexley 78.2 
			 Bicester 59.9 
			 Bingley 66.3 
			 Birkenhead 60.6 
			 Birmingham (Corporation Street) 62.4 
			 Bishop Auckland 33.2 
			 Blackburn 71.8 
			 Blackpool 88.6 
			 Blackwood Family Court 17.5 
			 Blaydon 39.8 
			 Bodmin 73.8 
			 Bolton 62.8 
			 Bootle 81.7 
			 Boston 42.9 
			 Bournemouth 72.5 
			 Bracknell 59.0 
			 Bradford 52.7 
			 Brecon 29.7 
			 Brent 51.8 
			 Brentford 19.9 
			 Bridgend 55.8 
			 Bridgwater 51.2 
			 Bridlington 43.5 
			 Brighton 75.7 
			 Bristol 86.0 
			 Bromley (London Road) 71.7 
			 Burnley 77.8 
			 Burton upon Trent 50.5 
			 Bury 61.4 
			 Bury St Edmunds 62.8 
			 Buxton 59.0 
			 Caernarfon 73.0 
			 Caerphilly 82.6 
			 Calderdale 57.8 
			 Camberwell Green 93.3 
			 Camborne (Bassett Road) 26.7 
			 Cambridge 39.3 
			 Cannock 69.0 
			 Canterbury 62.6 
			 Cardiff 49.4 
			 Cardigan 24.5 
			 Carlisle 61.2 
			 Carmarthen 30.0 
			 Chelmsford 59.7 
			 Cheltenham (St George's Road) 49.5 
			 Chester 56.9 
			 Chesterfield (Tapton Lane) 65.9 
			 Chichester 62.0 
			 Chippenham 52.7 
			 Chorley 78.2 
			 City of London 90.3 
			 City of Westminster 117.2 
			 Coalville 28.9 
			 Colchester (Town Hall) 58.7 
			 Consett 70.8 
			 Corby 51.4 
			 Coventry 69.1 
			 Crawley 90.9 
			 Crewe 58.6 
			 Cromer 22.0 
			 Croydon 63.8 
			 Cwmbran 70.9 
			 Darlington 54.3 
			 Dartford 80.0 
			 Daventry 45.6 
			 Denbigh 14.0 
			 Derby (St Mary's Gate) 67.7 
			 Dewsbury 53.6 
			 Didcot 50.5 
			 Dolgellau 39.0 
			 Doncaster 64.0 
			 Dover 49.0 
			 Dudley 65.8 
			 Durham 53.5 
			 Ealing 78.8 
			 Eastbourne 65.3 
			 Ely 21.6 
			 Enfield 75.2 
			 Epping 30.1 
			 Exeter 70.8 
			 Fareham 77.2 
			 Feltham 79.5 
			 Fenland 32.6 
			 Fleetwood 64.1 
			 Flint 27.4 
			 Folkestone 77.1 
			 Gateshead 82.2 
			 Gloucester (Barbican Way) 35.2 
			 Goole 33.0 
			 Gosforth 33.1 
			 Grantham 33.0 
			 Grays 66.0 
			 Great Yarmouth 40.5 
			 Greenwich 88.5 
			 Grimsby 71.0 
			 Guildford 58.4 
			 Halesowen 8.7 
			 Harlow 77.1 
			 Harrogate 49.1 
			 Harrow 95.0 
			 Hartlepool 71.0 
			 Harwich 36.5 
			 Hastings 80.1 
			 Haverfordwest 53.4 
			 Havering 76.7 
			 Haywards Heath 52.4 
			 Hemel Hempstead 53.6 
			 Hendon 81.9 
			 Hereford 67.4 
			 Hertford 62.8 
			 Highbury Corner 86.3 
			 Highgate 57.3 
			 Hinckley 48.4 
			 Holyhead 34.4 
			 Honiton 15.2 
			 Horsham 33.6 
			 Huddersfield 46.4 
			 Hull and Holderness 61.8 
			 Huntingdon 42.9 
			 Hyndburn 71.9 
			 ILCFPC 95.1 
			 Ilkeston 8.6 
			 Ipswich 57.0 
			 Kendal 31.6 
			 Kettering 72.5 
			 Kidderminster 55.4 
			 King's Lynn 69.6 
			 Kingston upon Thames 60.8 
			 Knowsley 55.6 
			 Lancaster 55.0 
			 Langbaurgh East 52.0 
			 Leeds 64.6 
			 Leicester 79.4 
			 Lewes 38.6 
			 Leyland 64.1 
			 Lincoln 53.7 
			 Liskeard 16.6 
			 Liverpool (Dale Street) 48.1 
			 Llandrindod Wells (Brecon) 63.2 
			 Llandrindod Wells (Welshpool) 10.2 
			 Llandudno 71.8 
			 Llanelli 54.7 
			 Llangefni 12.9 
			 Loughborough 55.6 
			 Lowestoft 44.4 
			 Ludlow 59.5 
			 Luton 68.7 
			 Lyndhurst 56.6 
			 Macclesfield (Hibel Road) 72.4 
			 Maidenhead 60.2 
			 Maidstone 86.7 
			 Manchester City 74.1 
			 Mansfield (Rosemary Street) 52.3 
			 Market Drayton 19.0 
			 Market Harborough 29.0 
			 Medway (Chatham) 64.6 
			 Melton Mowbray 32.9 
			 Merthyr Tydfil 49.5 
			 Milton Keynes 65.1 
			 Mold 67.7 
			 Neath and Port Talbot 43.5 
			 Newark 59.8 
			 Newbury 66.9 
			 Newcastle under Lyme 73.6 
			 Newcastle Upon Tyne 84.4 
			 Newport 63.4 
			 Newport (Civic Centre) 87.4 
			 Newport (Clarence House) 57.8 
			 Newton Abbot 51.7 
			 Newton Aycliffe 73.4 
			 North Liverpool Community Justice Centre 74.5 
			 North London Family Proceedings Court 79.8 
			 North Tyneside 71.9 
			 Northallerton 80.3 
			 Northampton 81.7 
			 Northwich 75.3 
			 Norwich 65.1 
			 Nottingham (Carrington Street) 57.7 
			 Nuneaton 84.9 
			 Oldham 62.7 
			 Ormskirk 52.1 
			 Oswestry 28.0 
			 Oxford 68.9 
			 Penrith 37.5 
			 Penzance 9.6 
			 Peterborough 44.0 
			 Peterlee 76.9 
			 Plymouth 60.2 
			 Pontefract 71.4 
			 Pontypridd 47.0 
			 Poole 55.3 
			 Portsmouth 75.0 
			 Prestatyn 58.7 
			 Preston 86.9 
			 Pwllheli 25.7 
			 Reading 91.1 
			 Redbridge 84.0 
			 Redditch 62.1 
			 Redhill 74.0 
			 Reedley 41.9 
			 Retford 26.0 
			 Richmond upon Thames 82.1 
			 Rochdale 70.5 
			 Rossendale 22.2 
			 Rotherham 58.6 
			 Rugby 58.4 
			 Runcorn 54.8 
			 Salford 44.3 
			 Salisbury (Guildhall) 60.8 
			 Scarborough 62.1 
			 Scunthorpe 81.7 
			 Selby 53.4 
			 Sevenoaks 78.9 
			 Sheffield 65.0 
			 Shrewsbury 60.7 
			 Sittingbourne 61.3 
			 Skegness 42.4 
			 Skipton 48.4 
			 Slough 101.2 
			 Solihull 67.4 
			 South East Northumberland 70.3 
			 South Tyneside Law Courts 66.4 
			 South Western 84.3 
			 Southampton (The Avenue) 60.0 
			 Southend on Sea 49.3 
			 Southport 61.8 
			 Spalding 41.9 
			 St Albans 75.2 
			 St Helens 58.7 
			 Stafford 46.3 
			 Staines 72.8 
			 Stevenage 66.9 
			 Stockport 45.2 
			 Stoke on Trent 80.2 
			 Stratford 69.7 
			 Stratford upon Avon 83.9 
			 Stroud 42.7 
			 Sudbury 22.9 
			 Sunderland and Houghton-le-Spring 64.6 
			 Sutton 40.5 
			 Sutton Coldfield 65.1 
			 Swaffham 22.7 
			 Swansea 71.3 
			 Swindon 64.4 
			 Tameside 74.6 
			 Tamworth 66.5 
			 Taunton 56.8 
			 Teesside 77.6 
			 Telford 62.6 
			 Thames 90.7 
			 Thanet (Margate) 91.3 
			 Thetford 31.1 
			 Torquay 87.4 
			 Torquay County Court 14.9 
			 Towcester 36.9 
			 Trafford 85.5 
			 Truro 60.9 
			 Tynedale 84.1 
			 Uxbridge 83.3 
			 Wakefield 61.6 
			 Walsall 82.0 
			 Waltham Forest 71.4 
			 Warley 74.2 
			 Warrington (Arpley Street) 79.2 
			 Watford 63.6 
			 Wellingborough 64.6 
			 Welshpool 43.5 
			 West Bromwich 43.9 
			 West London 95.7 
			 Weston Super Mare 64.1 
			 Weymouth 19.9 
			 Whitehaven 48.0 
			 Wigan 72.8 
			 Wimbledon 85.3 
			 Wimborne 5.0 
			 Witham 46.0 
			 Witney 30.6 
			 Woking 65.7 
			 Wolverhampton 54.4 
			 Worcester 79.1 
			 Workington 72.9 
			 Worksop 47.6 
			 Worthing 64.6 
			 Wrexham 69.6 
			 Wycombe 80.9 
			 Yate 59.2 
			 Yeovil 28.8 
			 York 67.3 
			 England and Wales 62.7 
			  Notes: 1. The data source is HMCS Performance Database (OPT). 2. This data was subject to the minimum data quality checks. 3. Courtroom Utilisation is the total number of hours used for judicial business in all courtrooms, divided by the total number of court hours available to be used.

Magistrates Courts: Trials

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many trials had been commenced and not completed in magistrates courts on the most recent date for which figures are available.

Jonathan Djanogly: In the second quarter (April to June) of 2010, there were 7,736 trials in the magistrates courts of England and Wales which were recorded as 'ineffective', meaning that they did not go ahead on the scheduled day, due to action or inaction by one or more of the prosecution, the defence or the court. This represented 18% of all trials taking place in the magistrates courts during this period. These trials will have been relisted for completion at a later date.
	Statistics on trials in the magistrates courts are published by the Ministry of Justice in the statistical bulletin "Court Statistics Quarterly" which is available on the Ministry's website at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/courtstatisticsquarterly.htm
	Statistics for the third quarter (July to September) are due to be published in December 2010.

Office of the Public Guardian

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many recorded incidents of the Office of the Public Guardian having lost original documents there were in the last 12 months.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Office of the Public Guardian is not able to collate statistics in respect of numbers of lost original documents without reference to individual cases.

Prison Service

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many reports the Prison Service has received of inappropriate relationships between prison inmates and prison staff in each of the last three years.

Crispin Blunt: Allegations of inappropriate relationships, as with other information relating to prison security, are reported using a Security Information Report (SIR). All SIRs have to be evaluated for quality, accuracy and intelligence value. Reporting levels can be driven by interpretation and subjective perceptions of particular circumstances and individuals, malicious reporting and the possibility of duplication. The number of SIRs submitted, therefore, does not provide a true reflection of risk. As with other concerns relating to potential corrupt activities, SIRs relating to potential inappropriate relationships are forwarded to the NOMS Corruption Prevention Unit for further development, analysis and potentially tasking activity.
	NOMS will always seek to deal robustly with any member of staff engaging in an inappropriate relationship with a prisoner and will look to use internal disciplinary and/or criminal proceedings depending on the circumstances of the case. Data collected from each prison shows that 258 individuals (directly and non-directly employed) have been convicted, dismissed or excluded by NOMS since January 2008 for corruption-related offences. 126 of these individuals are recorded under the category of 'Inappropriate Relationship' (five convicted, 85 excluded and 36 dismissed).
	 Note:
	These figures have been drawn from live administrative data systems maintained by the Corruption Prevention Unit which may be amended at any time. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. The 'results' data do not take account of those cases where there is an ongoing suspension, arrest or prosecution, or where there has been a resignation due to a corruption-related reason, prior to a formal disciplinary or criminal outcome.

Prison Service: Personnel

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice on what occasions he has met representatives of the trade union representing Prison Service staff since his appointment.

Kenneth Clarke: I met the chair of the Prison Officers Association formally in my Department and informally on other occasions. I met the president of the Prison Governor's Association briefly when I spoke at the recent conference of the association.

Probation Officers: Administration

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent estimate his Department has made of the proportion of the working day which probation officers spend  (a) with offenders and  (b) on computer-based administrative tasks.

Crispin Blunt: Delivery structures across probation areas vary as do the requirements of specific roles and the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) does not routinely report on the proportion of working time spent in face to face contact with offenders. In December 2008, NOMS undertook a snapshot survey over a one week period, based on a small sample of probation officer (PO) and probation service officer (PSO) staff. It reported that across England and Wales 24% of PO/PSO time was spent in direct contact with offenders, 41% was involved in computer activity and 35% of time was spent on non-computer-dealing with correspondence, meetings, travel, etc.
	The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) is taking a number of actions to increase the amount of contact time between probation staff and offenders. These include:
	Initiating the Offender Engagement Programme to evaluate and improve the quality of face to face work with offenders and its impact on reoffending. This includes work to reduce the bureaucratic demands on operational staff to enable them to: spend a greater proportion of work time in one to one engagement, exercise their professional judgment in personalising the work and engaging with offenders.
	As part of this programme the current heavily prescriptive, process-focused national standards are being revised, switching the focus from practitioners to what offenders do and achieve during the course of their supervision period.
	The Specifications Benchmarking and Costing programme which is on track to publish specifications for approximately 75 services delivered to offenders, defendants, victims and courts. This work is supporting decentralisation by removing unnecessary prescription-specifying "what" must be delivered but not "how" it should be delivered by clearly stating the outcomes required from the services provided by probation. It supports innovation and localism-by offering clear choices to commissioners on the core services to deliver, to which types of offenders and with the flexibility to commission options to reflect local circumstances; and it is driving improvements in efficiency and effectiveness, allocating resources to the assessment and management of offenders according to the level of risk;
	As part of the Probation Trusts Programme all areas (including locally initiated mergers) have identified efficiencies through for example the reduction in management overheads, and development, of shared services, to the benefit of front line staffing levels;
	Expanding the use of video conferencing to reduce the time probation staff spend travelling to interview prisoners; and
	A pilot in Surrey and Sussex Probation Trust to enable the use of professional judgement in deciding how to work most effectively with each individual.
	A new performance framework which is currently being piloted in Surrey and Sussex contains around half the current number of indicators with a view to rolling out nationally from April 2011.
	Within the financial constraints placed on all public services NOMS is committed to ensuring that resources continue to be targeted on front line work.

Sentencing: Transgender

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what information his Department holds on the number of transgender people who are serving custodial sentences.

Crispin Blunt: The Ministry of Justice does not hold information on the number of transgender people who are serving custodial sentences. There are difficulties in collecting information on the numbers of transgender prisoners. It would require a prisoner to voluntarily provide information on their gender history, as it would not always be possible for a prison to identify a transgender person by any other means. Any monitoring of the numbers of transgender prisoners would thus likely be incomplete.
	A further obstacle to collecting information on the numbers of transgender prisoners is that the Gender Recognition Act 2004 makes it an offence to disclose any information concerning the gender history of a person with a gender recognition certificate.

EDUCATION

Academies

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what mechanisms exist for parents to submit complaints about the operation of academy schools.

Nick Gibb: Academies are required by the independent school standards regulations to have a complaints procedure which must be available on request to parents. The procedure must provide for complaints to be managed within clear timescales. If initial informal consideration does not resolve the complaint, then the procedure must also include steps to escalate a complaint through both a formal written stage and, if necessary, a hearing before a panel that includes at least one member who is independent of the academy.
	If the complaint cannot be resolved at school level the Young People's Learning Agency (YPLA) will be the next route of redress. The YPLA will review the evidence provided by the complainant and the academy to determine if the academy has followed its own complaints procedure or is in breach of a contractual or statutory obligation. If the academy has not followed its procedures or obligations it will be asked to do so to rectify any failings.

Academies

Robin Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what timetable has been set for determining the status of academy building programmes listed by his Department as for discussion; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: On 6 August the Government confirmed the capital allocation for some of the academy building programmes listed as for discussion, and announced that the capital allocation for the remaining academies would be announced after the spending review. Tudor Grange Academy, Worcester, falls in to the first category and so the Government have confirmed that the capital allocation for this academy will go ahead.

Academies: Special Educational Needs

Pat Glass: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will review the provisions governing the ability of  (a) local authorities and  (b) the Special Educational Needs Tribunal to name an academy on a statement of special educational need in order to permit an academy to be named on such a statement.

Nick Gibb: The Academies Act 2010 brought in new provisions which mean that in future all state-funded schools will have the same obligations in relation to children with special educational needs, including requirements with regard to the naming of a school on a statement of special educational needs.
	In practical terms, the new obligations on Academies are:
	An obligation to inform parents that their child has SEN and the special educational provision (SEP) being made;
	An unqualified obligation to admit a child to the school if the school is named in the statement; and
	An obligation to appoint a person as SENCO who is a qualified teacher and that new SENCOs will have to undertake prescribed training.
	This applies to any new Academy and any existing Academy which moves to the new Funding Agreement, the contract between the Secretary of State and the Academy which regulates how an Academy operates. As a result, local authorities can now name an Academy on a statement of special educational needs in the same way as they can name a maintained school on a statement.
	Parents, either for or against the naming of an Academy in the child's SEN statement, have always had the same rights of access to the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability). The First-tier Tribunal can determine that an Academy should be named on a statement of special educational needs.

Building Schools for the Future Programme

James Wharton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the average cost to the public purse of refurbishing or rebuilding a school under the Building Schools for the Future scheme;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the average cost of refurbishing or rebuilding a school in the five years prior to the commencement of the Building Schools for the Future scheme.

Nick Gibb: The average cost to the public purse of a refurbishment school under the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) scheme is £3.9 million. The average cost to the public purse of a new build school under the BSF scheme is £22 million. From a small sample of local authorities in Waves 5 and 6, the average cost to a local authority for its BSF scheme during pre-procurement was £1.6 million.
	The Department for Education does not hold information on the average cost of refurbishing a school in the five years prior to the commencement of the BSF scheme.

Connexions Service: Finance

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what information his Department holds on reductions in funding to  (a) Brighton and Hove Connexions Service,  (b) Connexions services nationally and  (c) other frontline services within his Department's area of responsibility; and what assessment he has made of the effect of reductions in Connexions services on (i) the provision of careers support and guidance to young people, (ii) the number of young people not in education, employment or training and (iii) the number of young people accessing (A) substance misuse programmes, (B) teenage pregnancy and sexual health programmes and (C) reducing offending programmes.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 8 September 2010
	 The Department for Education does not hold information on the funding of individual Connexions services funded by grant from the Department. It is for Brighton and Hove city council, and for councils in other areas, to decide the level of funding for Connexions and other services supporting young people, and where to make savings. While the Department's area based grant (ABG) to local authorities was reduced by £311 million as part of the local government contribution to deficit reduction in 2010-11, the reduction in ABG does not imply a direct cut to the services funded by the grant. The Government have made it clear that local authorities should have the maximum flexibility to make efficiency savings from all their funding sources, taking into account their statutory responsibilities and the need to protect front line services as much as possible. We do not expect that cuts should fall disproportionately on Connexions services over others.

Departmental Legislation

Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many statutory duties were placed on local authorities by legislation introduced by his Department and its predecessors in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah Teather: This information is not readily available and could be compiled only at disproportionate cost. The Government intend to reduce the level of central prescription, strengthen public accountability, trust local professionals and encourage new and diverse ways of providing services for children and families.

Departmental Photographs

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department has spent on official photographs of Ministers since the formation of the present administration.

Tim Loughton: The Department has spent £2,300 on official photographs of its Ministers. This is comparable with the previous Administration's costs, which were £2,038-27 February 2008,  Official Report, column 1685W.

Departmental Public Relations

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the monetary value was of  (a) public opinion research and  (b) public relations contracts awarded by his Department in each of the last five years in each region.

Tim Loughton: The Department has spent a total of £579,263 on public opinion research since 2006, which is outlined in table A. The figures cannot be broken down into regions without incurring disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Table A 
			   Total spend  (£) 
			 2006-07 150,000 
			 2007-08 135,660 
			 2008-09 259,205 
			 2009-10 34,398 
			 Total 579,263 
		
	
	Public relations agencies are employed for specific communications tasks, most commonly working alongside our press office to provide campaign support in local, regional and specialist media. The Department's total expenditure on public relations since 2007 is outlined in table B. Figures cannot be provided for previous years or broken down into regions without incurring disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Table B 
			   Total spend (£) 
			 2007-08 1,818,398 
			 2008-09 2,629,490 
			 2009-10 1,886,726 
			 Total 6,334,614

Departmental Secondment

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many staff his Department has appointed on secondment since 7 May 2010; and from what organisation each such member of staff has been seconded.

Tim Loughton: There have been no inward secondments into the Department since 7 May 2010.

Further Education: Doncaster

Edward Miliband: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will ensure the provision of funding to rebuild Campsmount Technology College in Doncaster North constituency.

Nick Gibb: The independent capital review team is working with building companies on a pilot proposal to rebuild Campsmount Technology College in Doncaster. There is a good prospect that the new school could be built ahead of the original schedule and with significant cost savings.

Schools: Capital Investment

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what capital spending allocations he plans to make for  (a) new academy schools and  (b) maintained schools in each of the next three years.

Nick Gibb: The Department has commissioned a review of all of its capital expenditure to inform decisions about future capital investment. This will include capital investment in new academies and maintained schools.
	All funding after this financial year is subject to the outcomes of the comprehensive spending review. The review team will provide an interim report in the autumn and a final report by the end of the year that will guide future spending decisions over the next spending review period (2011-12 to 2014-15).

Special Educational Needs

Robin Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will ensure that his Department's review of the funding formula addresses provision for special needs children.

Nick Gibb: Any review will address funding for the education of children with special needs.

Special Educational Needs

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent assessment he has made of the efficiency of the Special Educational Needs Tribunal Service.

Jonathan Djanogly: I have been asked to reply.
	In November 2008 the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (SENDIST) was transferred to the Health, Education and Social Care Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal under the authority of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007. The Tribunal has jurisdiction in England only. The Tribunals Service regularly reviews the processes of the Tribunal and its rules of procedure in consultation with stakeholders and user groups, including parental representative bodies. Tribunals Service officials are in regular contact with officials at the Department for Education.
	The Tribunals Service Framework Document requires the agency to report the First-tier Tribunal' Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal's performance in its Annual Report and Accounts, copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House and on the Tribunals Service website:
	www.tribunals.gov.uk
	The Tribunal aims for 75% of hearings to take place within 22 weeks of registration of the appeal. In 2009/10 the percentage of cases disposed of within 22 weeks of receipt was 82%. The Tribunals Service has also published detailed official annual statistics for the operational year 2009-10 and, most recently, for the first quarter of 2010-11. The performance has risen to 83% for this first quarter.

Taxis

Matthew Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department and its predecessors spent on taxi fares in each year since 1997.

Tim Loughton: The Department for Education was established under the machinery of government on 12 May 2010. Therefore the response covers its predecessors the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF), which was established on 28 June 2007, and the Department for Education and Skills (DFES), which was established on 8 June 2001. To provide the information that has been requested would incur disproportionate cost.

Teachers and Classroom Assistants: Manpower

Edward Balls: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many  (a) teachers and  (b) teaching assistants there were in maintained schools in (i) England and (ii) each local authority area in each year since 1997.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 16 September 2010
	The information requested for full-time equivalent teachers and teaching assistants in 1997, 2001 to 2009 is published in tables 19 and 26 of the Statistical First Release (SFR) 'School Workforce in England (including local authority level figures) January 2009 (Revised)' published on 29 September 2009. The SFR is available at the following web link:
	www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000874/Tables19to27v2.xls
	The equivalent information requested for 1998 to 2000 is published in tables 18 and 24 of the Statistical First Release (SFR) 'School workforce in England (including pupil:teacher ratios and pupil:adult ratios) January 2007 (Revised)' published on 27 September 2007. The SFR is available at the following web link:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000743/SFR29_2007_FinalTables18-25.xls

Teachers and Classroom Assistants: Pay

Edward Balls: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of employing  (a) teachers and  (b) teaching assistants in (i) England and (ii) each local authority area in 2010-11.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 16 September 2010
	The available information on how much has been spent on employing teachers and teaching assistants is shown in the following table. The Department is currently collecting and validating the section 251 outturn data relating to the 2009-10 financial year.
	
		
			  Expenditure by local authority maintained schools in England on teachers and education support staff for 2008-09 
			  LA Name  Expenditure on teachers  Expenditure on education support staff 
			 England 18,878,677,943 4,646,473,323 
			
			 Barking and Dagenham 90,200,789 17,950,927 
			 Barnet 133,690,882 34,444,470 
			 Barnsley 76,932,603 20,576,204 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 63,585,005 12,680,983 
			 Bedfordshire 158,416,769 37,352,760 
			 Bexley 101,229,121 23,355,690 
			 Birmingham 480,443,321 112,270,944 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 60,377,709 15,149,754 
			 Blackpool 49,716,158 12,336,813 
			 Bolton 107,831,132 30,122,552 
			 Bournemouth 49,677,180 11,484,127 
			 Bracknell Forest 36,573,486 7,005,568 
			 Bradford 211,713,612 63,220,076 
			 Brent 130,496,786 28,287,393 
			 Brighton and Hove 75,608,326 19,156,090 
			 Bristol, City of 109,590,817 30,541,428 
			 Bromley 127,286,587 23,843,695 
			 Buckinghamshire 185,034,905 44,721,543 
			 Bury 67,031,882 14,707,382 
			 Calderdale 85,917,252 20,263,742 
			 Cambridgeshire 183,759,987 49,717,301 
			 Camden 76,645,345 21,080,917 
			 Cheshire 246,254,500 54,985,362 
			 City of London 882,545 267,760 
			 Cornwall 175,735,329 40,618,072 
			 Coventry 126,952,723 28,157,162 
			 Croydon 124,430,855 31,828,390 
			 Cumbria 183,732,398 40,092,514 
			 Darlington 34,266,765 9,590,485 
			 Derby 91,530,245 29,206,945 
			 Derbyshire 272,302,308 69,888,404 
			 Devon 233,868,626 54,132,340 
			 Doncaster 112,259,991 26,636,837 
			 Dorset 139,454,997 31,193,746 
			 Dudley 121,757,065 26,885,465 
			 Durham 185,395,086 44,846,618 
			 Ealing 120,155,182 32,591,435 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 113,116,368 26,094,269 
			 East Sussex 156,218,192 37,334,827 
			 Enfield 143,272,420 36,501,493 
			 Essex 485,621,043 109,260,905 
			 Gateshead 72,533,086 12,654,284 
			 Gloucestershire 216,825,825 47,099,338 
			 Greenwich 116,798,180 33,276,097 
			 Hackney 80,056,299 24,437,428 
			 Halton 50,254,710j 10,078,360 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 53,208,205 15,431,446 
			 Hampshire 414,449,593 90,902,052 
			 Haringey 103,333,327 30,548,307 
			 Harrow 81,918,664 21,619,821 
			 Hartlepool 38,037,059 11,315,018 
			 Havering 96,489,772 21,352,577 
			 Herefordshire 56,951,631 12,068,788 
			 Hertfordshire 443,931,148 89,222,739 
			 Hillingdon 112,346,871 31,195,836 
			 Hounslow 97,789,833 24,671,879 
			 Isle of Wight 47,383,387 13,391,027 
			 Isles of Scilly 1,246,012 182,532 
			 Islington 72,982,902 21,116,516 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 35,539,821 10,803,767 
			 Kent 516,528,836 131,817,814 
			 Kingston Upon Hull, City of 85,616,279 30,578,223 
			 Kingston upon Thames 60,404,453 12,656,154 
			 Kirklees 156,420,076 42,841,118 
			 Knowsley 61,466,264 15,599,800 
			 Lambeth 99,475,485 28,081,158 
			 Lancashire 418,830,378 105,216,638 
			 Leeds 255,321,738 70,764,821 
			 Leicester 115,234,357 31,799,526 
			 Leicestershire 222,303,090 51,081,682 
			 Lewisham 105,740,553 28,580,761 
			 Lincolnshire 247,683,342 61,112,655 
			 Liverpool 186,501,160 39,187,260 
			 Luton 73,240,780 28,633,483 
			 Manchester 162,682,487 50,375,716 
			 Medway 109,903,363 27,132,974 
			 Merton 58,018,461 13,090,419 
			 Middlesbrough 49,539,172 12,678,057 
			 Milton Keynes 95,718,414 26,246,379 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 94,076,015 23,115,150 
			 Newham 147,586,536 38,335,566 
			 Norfolk 269,785,482 71,249,551 
			 North East Lincolnshire 49,256,438 15,698,867 
			 North Lincolnshire 56,106,135 14,764,323 
			 North Somerset 67,635,255 15,562,749 
			 North Tyneside 72,667,572 18,241,471 
			 North Yorkshire 218,854,688 44,504,578 
			 Northamptonshire 250,826,998 58,989,734 
			 Northumberland 119,138,166 24,753,389 
			 Nottingham 94,249,947 32,457,582 
			 Nottinghamshire 281,957,816 70,499,669 
			 Oldham 94,841,242 29,915,676 
			 Oxfordshire 198,559,292 48,334,013 
			 Peterborough 66,445,804 22,631,127 
			 Plymouth 94,531,874 20,513,509 
			 Poole 47,350,223 10,559,924 
			 Portsmouth 58,930,918 16,865,555 
			 Reading 40,094,087 10,961,630 
			 Redbridge 129,718,660 28,131,086 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 57,254,293 14,259,161 
			 Richmond upon Thames 53,295,440 12,677,161 
			 Rochdale 80,615,417 21,704,584 
			 Rotherham 110,668,841 32,126,942 
			 Rutland 12,125,666 2,754,474 
			 Salford 76,194,826 20,621,192 
			 Sandwell 110,813,374 37,510,570 
			 Sefton 105,816,125 24,423,728 
			 Sheffield 169,909,766 46,353,822 
			 Shropshire 92,698,946 21,060,319 
			 Slough 58,264,488 15,112,148 
			 Solihull 79,633,204 17,515,022 
			 Somerset 163,808,267 39,523,519 
			 South Gloucestershire 95,549,824 20,429,024 
			 South Tyneside 58,890,038 12,532,253 
			 Southampton 65,417,338 17,920,275 
			 Southend-on-Sea 69,777,589 19,521,738 
			 Southwark 92,267,649 31,026,320 
			 St Helens 66,850,119 15,548,571 
			 Staffordshire 298,867,416 75,596,416 
			 Stockport 90,027,387 17,264,211 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 72,431,457 17,764,970 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 81,376,779 27,076,486 
			 Suffolk 248,821,267 52,140,235 
			 Sunderland 113,065,149 27,016,105 
			 Surrey 344,201,379 80,160,499 
			 Sutton 84,721,948 17,878,748 
			 Swindon 65,911,123 16,803,474 
			 Tameside 83,219,185 18,607,462 
			 Telford and Wrekin 55,946,132 15,436,545 
			 Thurrock 52,562,098 16,024,910 
			 Torbay 46,575,827 10,696,897 
			 Tower Hamlets 133,925,651 42,066,400 
			 Trafford 86,776,830 17,776,255 
			 Wakefield 117,672,065 28,624,257 
			 Walsall 116,935,008 29,173,818 
			 Waltham Forest 102,151,454 26,635,610 
			 Wandsworth 95,833,102 27,880,022 
			 Warrington 76,397,242 17,401,911 
			 Warwickshire 182,790,489 40,008,782 
			 West Berkshire 65,487,639 14,585,303 
			 West Sussex 259,029,497 55,676,803 
			 Westminster 56,360,443 14,237,654 
			 Wigan 119,143,401 25,193,019 
			 Wiltshire 160,119,140 34,598,162 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 48,774,709 11,054,803 
			 Wirral 132,798,667 28,642,861 
			 Wokingham 57,964,598 13,730,642 
			 Wolverhampton 101,136,201 25,503,572 
			 Worcestershire 196,718,339 40,448,115 
			 York 56,800,657 12,836,566 
			  Notes: 1. Financial information used in this answer are taken from the DFE section 251 outturn statements. 2. These figures include all expenditure on teachers employed directly by the school, supply teachers and agency supply teachers. 3. Education support staff includes all staff employed directly by the school in support of students' learning, i.e. child care staff, classroom assistants/learning support assistants, exam invigilators, foreign language assistants, librarians, nursery assistants, pianists, residential child care officers at a residential special school, Supply education support staff, workshop and technology technicians, expenditure on salaries and wages consisting of gross pay, including of bonus and allowances, maternity pay and the employer's contributions to national insurance and superannuation, educational welfare officers. 4. Cash terms figures as reported by local authorities as at 15 September 2010.

DEFENCE

Strategic Defence and Security Review

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether there will be changes to the surface warship refurbishment workstream for Rosyth dockyard following the outcome of the Strategic Defence and Security Review.

Peter Luff: holding answer 26 October 2010
	As has been the practice since the formation of the Surface Ship Support Alliance (SSSA), discussions have been continuous between members of the SSSA (the Department, Babcock Marine and BAE Systems Surface Ships) about the best allocation of the forward programme of upkeep periods for the Royal Navy surface warships. Following the Strategic Defence and Security Review, it is too early to say what changes might be required to the programme at Rosyth and elsewhere in the SSSA.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what contribution his Department has made to the financing of the Afghan  (a) army and  (b) police force in the latest period in which figures are available.

Liam Fox: In 2009-10, the United Kingdom provided financing through the tri-departmental conflict pool of £8.8 million for the Afghan national police and £0.5 million for the Afghan national army.
	Over the same period, the United Kingdom also made significant contributions to Afghan army and police development through the embedded partnering of British and Afghan forces, our contribution to the NATO training mission-Afghanistan and EUPOL missions, and other targeted assistance linked to operations funded through the Treasury reserve.

Air Force: Training

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he plans to take to improve simulated training in the Royal Air Force.

Nick Harvey: The Royal Air Force's (RAF) use of simulators already forms a key element through the full spectrum of training provided to RAF personnel from basic training onwards. The use of simulators offers cost-effective and practical training for a wide range of appropriate and relevant skills and the RAF is working closely with the Ministry of Defence, allies and industry to maximise the benefits available from this approach. In particular, the RAF is currently developing two major simulator-based projects. The first links realistic simulation environments for training fast jet pilots, ISTAR (Intelligence Surveillance Targeting, Acquisition and Reconnaissance) and aviation specialisations. This is planned to enter service with the RAF in 2013. The second aims to deliver an enhanced training capability in support of the RAF's air transport capability, including the C130J and A400M aircraft. This project is also planned to be in use by 2013. However, it needs to be recognised that a significant irreducible element of live flying training by the RAF will be required to maintain the safe operation of front-line aircraft for the foreseeable future.

Armed Forces: Germany

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of the draw-down of troops from Germany;
	(2)  what procedure he plans to use to effect the draw-down of troops from Germany;
	(3)  what his timetable is for the draw-down of troops from Germany;
	(4)  where he expects armed forces personnel drawn-down from Germany to be based upon return to the UK.

Nick Harvey: As the Prime Minister announced in the House of Commons on 19 October 2010,  Official Report, column 797, as part of the Strategic Defence and Security Review, the Government have decided to accelerate the re-basing of 20,000 military personnel in Germany with a view to returning half of those personnel to the UK by 2015 and the remainder by 2020.
	More detailed work will now be undertaken to identify precisely how this will be implemented. It is therefore too early to say what the financial impact will be or specifically where returning personnel will be based.

Armed Forces: North East

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people from the North East are serving in the armed forces.

Peter Luff: The information is not available in the format requested. However, as at 1 July 2010 there were 1,440 service personnel stationed in the region covered by the Government office north-east. The figure quoted includes the region's total for Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, Northumberland and Tyne and Wear.

Army

Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what procedure he intends to use to determine which two of the 10 regional brigade headquarters will be closed;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department arising from the closure of two of the 10 regional brigade headquarters;
	(3)  what savings he expects to accrue to his Department from the closure of two of the 10 regional brigade headquarters in the next 12 months;
	(4)  what assessment he has made of the potential saving to the public purse of the reduction in the Army's non-deployable regional administrative structure;
	(5)  by what means his Department plans to reduce the non-deployable regional administrative structure of the Army;
	(6)  what estimate he has made of the cost of replacing the four regional division headquarters with one UK support command;
	(7)  what estimate he has made of the potential savings to the public purse consequent on replacing the four regional division headquarters with one UK support command.

Nick Harvey: As stated in the White Paper on the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR), the Army will significantly reduce its non-deployable administration structure in order to enhance its focus on front-line capabilities. The current four regional divisional headquarters will be replaced with a single UK Support Command and at least two regional brigade headquarters will close. This will generate savings in personnel and estate costs. It is too early to provide detailed estimates.
	A project team was established in June 2010 to examine and rationalise the Army's non-deployable regional administrative structure after the publication of the SDSR. This team will continue the detailed work of identifying the most cost-effective way of achieving this transformation.

Army

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what his Department's most recent estimate is of the likely time period for which each of the Army's five multi-role brigades will be kept in a state of high-readiness at any one time;
	(2)  what his most recent estimate is of the cost of  (a) training and  (b) configuring the Army's five multi-role brigades.

Nick Harvey: The Army's five new multi-role brigades will consist of 6,500 personnel and provide a wide range of capabilities, allowing them to operate effectively across the variety of possible conflicts that could arise over the next decades. It is likely that one multi-role brigade will be kept at readiness for a period of six months on rotation.
	It is too early to assess the likely cost of training and configuring the multi-role brigades.

Army: Manpower

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the  (a) required and  (b) actual training strength is of the (i) 4th Battalion of the Royal Scottish Regiment, (ii) 5th Battalion of the Royal Scottish Regiment, (iii) 5th Battalion of the Rifles, (iv) 21 Engineer Regiment, (v) 28 Engineer Regiment, (vi) 32 Engineer Regiment, (vii) 35 Engineer Regiment, (viii) Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, (ix) Queen's Royal Hussars, (x) the Queen's Dragoon Guards and (xi) 9th/12th Royal Lancers.

Nick Harvey: The most recently available figures for each unit are in the following table.
	
		
			   Required strength  Actual strength 
			 4th Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland 640 480 
			 5th Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland 591 560 
			 5th Battalion of the Rifles 636 650 
			 21 Engineer Regiment 626 660 
			 28 Engineer Regiment 569 600 
			 32 Engineer Regiment 625 640 
			 35 Engineer Regiment 626 660 
			 Royal Scots Dragoon Guards 455 420 
			 Queen's Royal Hussars 455 460 
			 Queen's Dragoon Guards 331 340 
			 9th/12th Royal Lancers 331 330 
		
	
	The figures represent the peacetime establishments of the units concerned, and include full-time personnel only. As a result of differences in the method of calculation, the totals for the four Engineer Regiments include personnel from other arms and services who are on the units' establishment, while the figures for the other units include only personnel of the Infantry or Royal Armoured Corps as appropriate.

Astute Class Submarines

Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost is of the seventh Astute-class submarine.

Peter Luff: On 19 October 2010, the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) (Cm7948) confirmed the Department's intention to purchase the seventh Astute class submarine. It also stated that the Department will work with British industry to improve efficiency and optimise its capacity to build and support submarines.
	The outcome of this work will inform the procurement costs and in-service dates for the Astute class submarines, including boat 7. It will not be possible to confirm this information until it has been approved through the Department's and HM Treasury's formal investment approvals processes.

Atomic Weapons Establishment: Fire Regulations

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what investigation his Department has undertaken into the fire protection procedures at Atomic Weapons Establishment Aldermaston following the fire in August 2010.

Peter Luff: holding answer 26 October 2010
	The Defence Fire Risk Management Organisation has undertaken two investigations into the Atomic Weapons Establishment's fire protection procedures as a result of the fire that occurred on 3 August. One investigation focused on the cause of the fire and the other focused on the fire and rescue services' operational response.

Ballistic Missile Defence

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  whether he has had discussions with his Russian counterpart on NATO's proposed anti-ballistic missile shield;
	(2)  what representations he has received on the participation of the Russian government in NATO's proposed anti-ballistic missile shield.

Gerald Howarth: No such discussions have taken place, nor representations received.

Chelsea Barracks: Property Transfer

Jason McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  whether the remaining £159 million balance from the sale of Chelsea Barracks will be allocated to his Department;
	(2)  what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the allocation of the remaining balance from the sale of Chelsea Barracks for expenditure on armed forces' accommodation;
	(3)  with reference to the answers of 6 February 2008,  Official Report, column 1148W, on Chelsea Barracks: sales, and 29 January 2008,  Official Report, House of Lords, WA100, on Army: Chelsea Barracks, when it was decided that the allocation of the final payment from the proceeds of the sale of Chelsea Barracks would be subject to negotiation with HM Treasury.

Peter Luff: The spending review, published on 20 October 2010, sets out the Department's capital budget for the next four years. This takes account of the position set out in the comprehensive spending review 2007 regarding the disposal of Chelsea Barracks.

Claro Barracks Ripon

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for  (a) the maintenance of and  (b) expenditure on (i) facilities and (ii) housing at Claro Barracks, Ripon in each of the next three years.

Andrew Robathan: Expenditure on maintenance over the next three years is currently anticipated at around £1.5 million per year.
	Housing at Claro Barracks is not currently within the upgrade programme but this remains under review.
	The MOD is currently undertaking a Strategic Defence and Security Review. The rationalisation and development of future estates and the management of defence infrastructure is included within it. The outcome will be announced in due course.

Defence: Procurement

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he next plans to review arrangements for defence procurement; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Luff: Reform of the Ministry of Defence's procurement processes remains an essential and ongoing programme of activity within the Department. This is being taken forward by the Defence Acquisition Reform Programme (DARP) team. I welcome the recent National Audit Office Major Projects Report which recognised the Department's improved project management performance.
	In August 2010 my right hon. Friend the Defence Secretary launched the Defence Reform Unit under the leadership of Lord Levene. One of the areas the Review is looking at is that of acquisition reform, working with the DARP team. Lord Levene will look to work closely on this with the next Chief of Defence Materiel, once they are appointed. The Review aims to report in July 2011.

Defence: Training

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for the future of defence training in the UK.

Nick Harvey: holding answer 25 October 2010
	 The Government are committed to ensuring our armed forces are given the high quality training they require whatever their role.
	Regarding defence technical training specifically, the Ministry of Defence worked tirelessly to deliver the Defence Training Rationalisation project but it became clear that Metrix could not deliver an affordable, commercially robust proposal within the prescribed period and it was therefore necessary to terminate the procurement and Metrix's appointment as preferred bidder.
	For good reasons, St Athan was previously chosen as the best location on which to situate a defence technical college and it remains an option for the location of future defence technical training.
	Work will begin as soon as possible to determine the optimal approach to meeting our technical training requirement and where it is to be located. As an interim measure, training will continue to be delivered at current locations.

Departmental Official Cars

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 27 July 2010,  Official Report, column 1053W, on departmental official cars, how many cars constitute his Department's car pool; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 25 October 2010
	There are approximately 22 vehicles which form the car pool available to Ministers and senior personnel in Main Building, London.
	The Ministry of Defence also has White Fleet vehicle contracts that could be used to meet vehicle requirements across various locations in the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland and British Forces Germany. Top Level Budgets have delegated authority to determine the number of pool cars held locally, subject to the constraint that it should be sufficient to provide for normal tasking needs only.
	As was the case under previous Governments, all service personnel, civil servants and special advisers may use an official car or taxi in properly defined circumstances. Ministers and senior personnel employed in our headquarters have given up their cars with a dedicated driver and share pool cars instead.

Departmental Pay

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what allowances and payments in addition to salary were available to officials in his Department and its non-departmental public bodies in each year since 1997; and what the monetary value was of payments and allowances of each type in each such year.

Peter Luff: The Department currently has over 500 pay-related allowances and payments in addition to salary available to civilian staff, the majority of which are listed on the People, Pay and Pensions Agency (PPPA) website:
	http://www.pppaservices.qinetiq-tim.com/https@knowledge.chris.r.mil.uk/pppa/index@page=content&id=us131&cat=pay_and _expenses&actp=list.htm
	Travel and subsistence claims and transfer allowances are payable to civilian staff, in addition to salary. These are listed on the PPPA website:
	http://www.pppaservices.qinetiq-tim.com/https@knowledge.chris.r.mil.uk/pppa/index@page=content&id=pr200&cat=travel_and _subsistence&actp=list.htm
	Information on the monetary value of each type of allowance and payment in each year since 1997 is not held in the format requested, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, information is available from July 2007, but will take a short while to compile. I will write to my hon. Friend with the information as soon as possible.
	As the Strategic Defence and Security Review made clear, we intend to simplify the allowance structure, as part of an update of the current package of terms and conditions of service.

Energy Supply: International Cooperation

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent assessment he has made of the merits of designating energy security an Article 5 matter under the North Atlantic Treaty.

Gerald Howarth: NATO's role in addressing the range of security challenges we face will be articulated in a new strategic concept, which is due to be endorsed at a summit meeting in Lisbon in November. However, article 5 of the North Atlantic treaty concerns an armed attack on one or more allies. Wider security challenges to the alliance, such as energy security, are more appropriately addressed under article 4 of the treaty:
	"The Parties will consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of the Parties is threatened."
	Such consultations would determine the appropriate response by the alliance.

European Fighter Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Typhoons can be used for close air support; and what weapons those Typhoons can carry.

Peter Luff: Of the 66 strong Typhoon fleet, 23 aircraft are multi-role capable and can carry out close air support activity. The number of aircraft that can be used for close air support will grow as more Tranche 1 aircraft are upgraded to a multi-role capability. These multi-role aircraft can employ the following weapons: Paveway and Enhanced Paveway II Laser Guided Bombs, which are supported by Litening III Laser Designator Pods; and 1,000 lbs Freefall Bombs. An enhanced air-to-surface capability is expected to be integrated on Tranche 2 aircraft from 2012. Further weapon upgrades are also under consideration to enable Typhoon to employ a greater variety of air-to-surface munitions in future.

Ex-servicemen: Radiation Exposure

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the likely cost to the public purse of the payment of a war pension to each eligible individual affected by ionising radiation arising from nuclear tests undertaken by his Department.

Andrew Robathan: Some 21,000 UK personnel were involved in the nuclear test programme conducted between 1952 and 1958.
	All former members of HM forces, including nuclear test veterans, suffering from a disablement caused by an illness or injury attributable to service in the armed forces before 6 April 2005, may apply for compensation in the form of a war pension.
	At current war pension rates, the Ministry of Defence may pay a basic war pension worth up to £154.70 per week, depending on the degree of disablement. Additional supplementary benefits based on factors such as age, mobility and employability can increase this figure to over £525 per week. The scheme also makes provision for widows and widowers of personnel whose death is attributable to service. All cases for war pensions are considered on their specific service and medical facts and individuals may appeal to an independent tribunal. It is therefore not possible to estimate the cost of paying all nuclear test veterans a war pension.
	MOD spends around £1 billion per year on war pensions. We do not collate separately figures for nuclear test veterans claiming war pensions.

Ex-servicemen: Unemployment

David Nuttall: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he has made an estimate of the number of former members of the armed services of working age who are unemployed; and what steps his Department is taking to  (a) provide support to and  (b) assist with access to training for such former personnel to help them back into employment.

Peter Luff: The Ministry of Defence is unable to estimate the number of former members of the armed forces of working age who are unemployed. However, all service personnel, regardless of time served, are entitled to some form of resettlement. Data to improve our understanding of the situation are being gathered in order to make our system of resettlement more personalised and sophisticated. This can range from advice on how to find employment, through to formal training activity to complement the transferable skills they have acquired through service. All injured service personnel who are discharged will receive the full resettlement package, that in some cases can be deferred until they are well enough to undertake resettlement activity.
	The most recent data available from the NAO show that resettlement outcomes remain impressive: over 90% of personnel who transition using the services of the Career Transition Partnership (a partnering arrangement between MOD and Right Management Limited, a leading specialist outplacement company) are in employment within six months of being discharged. Nevertheless, the MOD recognises that making the transition from the armed forces into civilian life can be daunting and we are doing more to enhance the resettlement package.
	Prior to discharge, individual employment needs are identified from a mandatory interview with a trained service resettlement adviser who is able to signpost to a number of organisations and services ranging from the 'Flexible New Deal' programme available at Jobcentre Plus through to workshops and training delivered through the Career Transition Partnership. For those who have left, lifetime job finding support is available through the Officers' Association or the Regular Forces Employment Association. There are also various regimental associations, for example RAJA (Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineer (REME) Association Job Agency) that provide further help for former soldiers of certain regiments.
	In addition, the MOD has been working closely with the Department for Work and Pensions and armed forces champions have been appointed that aim to ensure Jobcentre Plus staff are providing the correct advice and support, not only to families of our armed forces but also to former service personnel.

Military Aircraft: Guided Weapons

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which aircraft in the RAF can use the  (a) Harpoon AGM-84D and  (b) Sting Ray missile.

Peter Luff: No RAF aircraft have the capability to carry these weapon systems; indeed the Harpoon AGM-84D variant was withdrawn from service in 2004. However, the Royal Navy (RN) retains a variety of platforms capable of using both Sting Ray and Harpoon, or other weapons systems with a similar capability. In the anti-shipping role, RN Frigates are fitted with Harpoon, while Lynx helicopters carry the Sea Skua missile. Both RN Merlin and Lynx helicopters are capable of delivering the Sting Ray Torpedo.

Nuclear Fuels

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish an update on the quantities of  (a) plutonium,  (b) enriched uranium and  (c) other special nuclear materials that are outside international safeguards.

Liam Fox: We have no plans to publish follow-up documents to the historical accounts of defence fissile material holdings. The Government are committed to transparency and openness about the defence nuclear programme when compatible with national security and the UK's international obligations under article 1 of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. We will keep under review the opportunities for greater openness on other special nuclear material holdings.

RAF Lossiemouth: Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Michael McCann: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reason Lossiemouth was selected as preferred base station for the proposed Joint Strike Fighter.

Nick Harvey: I refer the hon. Member to the oral statement given by the previous Administration on 17 November 2005,  Official Report, column 1119. Work is now under way to consider the implications of decisions announced in the Strategic Defence and Security Review for UK military bases.

Royal Navy: Manpower

Gemma Doyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the likely effects on HMNB Clyde of the proposed reduction of Royal Navy staff by 5,000 by 2015.

Peter Luff: holding answer 26 October 2010
	The impact of the Strategic Defence and Security Review announcements on personnel numbers across all of the naval service's activities is currently being assessed. Reductions will be achieved through a combination of natural wastage and compulsory redundancy over the four-year planning round period. Initial numbers and profiles will be established over the next few months and refined in subsequent planning rounds. It is therefore too early to judge the effects on specific locations of the planned reductions in the number of Royal Navy personnel.

Type 26 Frigates

Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of the Type 26 Frigate programme.

Peter Luff: The cost to the Department of progressing the Type 26 programme, the Global Combat Ship, from the concept stage through to the completion of the four-year assessment stage is estimated to be approximately £170 million.
	The cost of building the ships will be determined at the main investment decision point, anticipated to be by the middle of this decade.

Type 26 Frigates

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the number of jobs dependent on the Type 26 Frigate programme.

Peter Luff: At the peak of the Type 26 (Global Combat Ship) four-year assessment phase, currently under way, it is anticipated that there will be approximately 300 people engaged on the programme on a full-time basis with further people employed on sub-contracts. It is too early to estimate the number of people that will be engaged on the programme following the completion of the assessment phase.

Warships

Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what potential sites he has identified for Royal Navy ships kept in extended readiness.

Peter Luff: For reasons of security the work of placing warships into extended readiness and maintaining them in that state is only undertaken in the Royal Navy base ports of Her Majesty's Naval Base Portsmouth, Devonport and Clyde.

Warships

Alan Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many full-time equivalent jobs he expects to be dependent on keeping Royal Navy ships in extended readiness in 2011-12;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the average cost of keeping a Royal Navy ship in extended readiness for 12 months in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(3)  what procedures his Department uses to enable companies to bid for work involved in placing a Royal Navy ship into extended readiness.
	(4)  what estimate he has made of the average cost of placing a Royal Navy ship into extended readiness in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(5)  what the procedure is for a Royal Navy ship to be placed into extended readiness.

Peter Luff: The procedures for placing a Royal Navy warship into extended readiness vary depending on the length of time the platform is planned to be at this readiness level and the future plans for the vessel. The Surface Ship Support Alliance (SSSA) manages the work required to place warships in extended readiness through agreement between its members: the Ministry of Defence, Babcock Marine and BAE Systems Surface Ships.
	The most recent warship to be placed in extended readiness was HMS Invincible. The work to prepare her for extended readiness took place during 2005-06 and cost £2.5 million. The cost of keeping her in extended readiness is estimated at approximately £52,000 a year. It is important to note that as HMS Invincible is an aircraft carrier at the end of her service life, these costs cannot be considered representative of the average cost of placing or keeping any other Royal Naval ship in extended readiness.
	Following the Strategic Defence and Security Review announcement, further work is under way to identify the package of work required to ensure that ships placed in extended readiness in 2011-12 are maintained in the appropriate condition. It is not possible to say with any accuracy the level of manpower resource needed to support the Royal Navy ships in extended readiness until this is complete.

TREASURY

Child Benefit: Gateshead

Ian Mearns: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families in Gateshead constituency will be affected by the proposed changes to the administration of child benefit.

David Gauke: Information on household income for child benefit claimants is not available at parliamentary constituency level.

Child Benefit: Scotland

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in Scotland earning over £37,401 receive child benefit.

David Gauke: HMRC estimates that around 26,000 adults in Scotland have incomes over £37,401 and also received child benefit payments in 2009-10.

Departmental Sick Leave

Priti Patel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many days his Department has lost to staff sickness in each year since 1997; and what estimate he made of the cost to his Department of sickness absence in each such year.

Justine Greening: The Cabinet Office has published annual sickness absence reports for the civil service (from 2003 to 2007), these can be viewed via:
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/about/resources/sickness/sickness.aspx
	Reliable data before 2002 are not available from HMT electronic systems.
	HM Treasury days lost due to staff sickness from 2007 onwards are as follows:
	
		
			   Days 
			 2007-2008 5,507 
			 2008-2009 4,187 
			 2009-2010 4,771 
		
	
	Estimated costs of staff sickness are not recorded, therefore this information could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.

Departmental Sick Leave

Priti Patel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many officials in his Department have had  (a) fewer than five days,  (b) five to 10 days,  (c) 10 to 15 days,  (d) 15 to 20 days,  (e) 20 to 25 days,  (f) 25 to 50 days,  (g) 50 to 75 days,  (h) 75 to 100 days,  (i) 100 to 150 days,  (j) 150 to 200 days,  (k) more than 200 days,  (l) more than three months,  (m) more than six months and  (n) one year on paid sick leave (i) consecutively and (ii) in total in each year since 1997.

Justine Greening: Sick absence for HM Treasury is recorded and monitored on the electronic HR system. However it is not recorded in the format required for this PQ. Therefore the information requested could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.
	However the Cabinet Office has published previous annual sickness absence reports for the Civil Service (2003-2007). These can be viewed at:
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/about/resources/sickness/sickness.aspx

Departmental Stationery

Graham Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on stationery in each year since 1997.

Justine Greening: The information requested is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  £000 
			   HM Treasury (HMT)  Debt Management Office (DMO)  Asset Protection Agency (APA) 
			 2002-03 263 23 n/a 
			 2003-04 308 17 n/a 
			 2004-05 264 23 n/a 
			 2005-06 256 17 n/a 
			 2006-07 289 14 n/a 
			 2007-08 289 13 n/a 
			 2008-09 263 28 n/a 
			 2009-10 331 27 5 
		
	
	Data for HM Treasury and DMO are not available prior to 2002-03 due to the introduction of a new accounting system in that year. APA was formed in December 2009.
	Stationery spending by the Royal Mint Advisory Committee is not separately identifiable within the Royal Mint's accounting system and cannot be provided.

Economic Situation

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his Department has  (a) undertaken and  (b) evaluated recent research on the social effects of increases in gross domestic product.

Justine Greening: The Treasury published an economic working paper 'Developments in the economics of well-being' in November 2008, which considered economic growth and well-being.
	In the June 2010 Budget, the Government stated their commitment to developing broader indicators of well-being and sustainability. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the Cabinet Office are leading work on taking forward the recommendations of the 2009 Stiglitz, Sen and Fitoussi report on the measurement of economic performance and social progress. The ONS article, 'There's more to life than GDP but how can we measure it?', published in September 2010 identifies relevant outputs and initiatives that support this broader societal well-being agenda and areas for potential development.
	DEFRA publishes cross-government sustainable development indicators annually, covering economic, social and environmental issues, and including well-being. The latest edition 'Measuring progress: sustainable development indicators 2010' was published in July 2010 at:
	www.defra.gov.uk/sustainable/government/progress
	The Government continue to engage with the European Commission, Eurostat and other EU member states on developing broader indicators of well-being and sustainability, building on the Commission's communication 'GDP and Beyond-Measuring Progress in a Changing World, from August 2009' (see EM 12739/09).

EU Budget

Alun Cairns: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on the increased EU budget contributions agreed in the European Parliament on 20 October 2010.

Justine Greening: holding answer 26 October 2010
	 I and other Government Ministers are working hard to make the case to our counterparts across the European Union for a freeze in the EU budget.
	We have been absolutely clear that we cannot accept the 6% budget increase from 2010 levels, proposed by the Commission at the start of these negotiations. We also therefore oppose the European Parliament's suggested budget increase, which-while still representing a 6% increase overall-is higher still than the Commission's proposal. This is completely out of step with the very tough fiscal consolidation measures being taken not just in the UK, but also by Governments across the EU.
	In Brussels on 14 October, I strongly urged MEPs not to support such an increase, and will continue to engage in this way.

Financial Markets

John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received on the Financial Services Authority and his Department's report on Reforming OTC derivative markets: A UK perspective, published in December 2009.

Mark Hoban: Treasury Ministers and officials receive representations from a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings and discussions.

Human Rights

Priti Patel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he made of the cost to his Department and its non-departmental public bodies of compliance with  (a) domestic,  (b) European and  (c) other international human rights requirements in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Justine Greening: The information sought (on the estimated cost of complying with domestic, European and international human rights requirements) is not recorded in, or derivable from, the Department's records. The Department takes account of the domestic and relevant international human rights framework in developing all its policies and practices, as it does other relevant legal obligations. An accurate estimate of the total cost of compliance with human rights obligations could not be made without incurring disproportionate cost.

National Insurance

Robert Halfon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many active national insurance numbers HM Revenue and Customs recorded in the last 24 months.

David Gauke: HMRC's latest figures available show that it registered approximately 1.6 million new national insurance numbers (NINOs) on our systems between April 2008 and March 2009 and 1.4 million new NINOs between April 2009 and March 2010.
	National insurance numbers are used for several purposes and it would be disproportionately expensive to identify how many of these national insurance accounts have been active in the past 24 months.

PAYE

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has made of the effect on other HMRC services of the recent miscalculations of tax liability under the PAYE system.

David Gauke: HMRC managed the issues that arose at PAYE Annual Coding 2010 by reprioritising work loads on a daily basis to keep the operational effects to a minimum. HMRC services other than PAYE were unaffected.
	HMRC will continue to prioritise resources to support customers through the PAYE 2008-09 and 2009-10 end of year reconciliation exercise.

Poverty: Children

Stephen Timms: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his statement of 20 October 2010,  Official Report, columns 949-63, on the comprehensive spending review, what estimate he has made, based on the model referred to in the statement, of the likely effect on the level of child poverty of implementation of the proposals in the spending review in each of the next four years.

Justine Greening: The spending review announced a package of reforms to reduce the deficit while supporting the most vulnerable. This included withdrawing child benefit from families with a higher rate taxpayer, and using some of savings to fund above-indexation increases in the child tax credit. As a result, the spending review will have no measurable impact on child poverty in the next two years.
	The Prime Minister has asked the right hon. Member for Birkenhead (Mr Field) to conduct an independent review on poverty and life chances in the UK. This review will inform the Government's longer term child poverty strategy, which will be published in March.
	Estimates of the impact of spending review measures on the number of children in relative poverty after 2012-13 are not available due to reservations over forecasting median household incomes (from which low-income poverty thresholds are calculated) further ahead.

Public Expenditure

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what  (a) growth and  (b) inflation assumptions he based the estimates used in the comprehensive spending review; and if he will make a statement.

Justine Greening: The CSR estimates were prepared on the basis of growth and inflation forecasts produced by the OBR for the June Budget; these are included in Table C5: Determinants of the fiscal forecast of the Budget.

Public Expenditure

Ian Lucas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what conditions he plans to attach to the support provided to Augusta Westland civil rotocraft design and manufacture referred to in the spending review 2010.

Danny Alexander: In line with standard practice, the precise terms and conditions of such support will be commercially confidential.

Revenue and Customs: Manpower

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many tax inspectors HM Revenue and Customs employed in  (a) 2008-09 and  (b) 2009-10.

David Gauke: HMRC no longer uses the term tax inspector.
	HMRC deployed approximately 32,000 staff at all grades in 2008-09 on a variety of compliance activities including risk assessment, addressing inaccurate returns and verifying repayment claims, debt collection and criminal investigations across all heads of duty. The equivalent figure for 2009-10 was some 31,000 staff.
	Officers engaged in this work could cover everything from correcting relatively low value errors made by small businesses and individuals to significant risks among the largest corporates, as well as countering criminal attacks on the tax and duty systems.

Revenue and Customs: Pay

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent estimate he has made of the  (a) average annual salary of a tax inspector and  (b) average annual amount of unpaid tax recovered by a tax inspector.

David Gauke: HMRC no longer uses the term tax inspector. Details of HMRC's pay structure can be found:
	http://data.gov.uk/dataset/staff-organograms-and-pay-hmrc
	Compliance officers at all grades are engaged in a wide range of activities, which may include risk assessment, recovery of underpaid tax, the prevention of further tax losses, debt collection and the deterrence of tax evasion through, for example criminal investigation.
	For this reason, HMRC does not collect statistics on the average salary or average revenue collected by a compliance officer. HMRC's compliance intervention results were published in their 2009 autumn performance report, available at:
	http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/cm77/7774/7774.pdf

Senior Civil Servants : Redundancy

Priti Patel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of making redundant an HM Revenue and Customs official in a Senior Civil Service grade.

David Gauke: holding answer 19 October 2010
	Estimates for the cost of redundancy depend on the individual(s) concerned and the terms of the Civil Service Compensation Scheme (CSCS), which is currently being reviewed with primary legislation also currently going through Parliament.
	The latest update on this can be found at:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/newsroom/news_releases/2010/101007-compensation.aspx
	which includes a stylised example of the cost of making a very senior civil servant redundant under proposed new CSCS terms. The cost calculated would apply to a senior employee of HMRC who had the salary and length of service given in the example.
	To date HMRC has not made any member of the senior civil service (SCS) compulsorily redundant, and will continue to do all that it can to avoid compulsory redundancies as far as practically possible.

Taxation

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department has received in tax revenues from  (a) tobacco and  (b) alcohol sales in each of the last five years.

Justine Greening: Total duties received in each of the past five years are summarised in the following table:
	
		
			  Total duties on tobacco and alcohol 
			  £ million 
			   2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10 
			 Alcohol 7,861 7,913 8,302 8,470 9,012 
			 Tobacco 7,959 8,149 8,094 8,219 8,813 
		
	
	HMRC does not collect VAT data on specific products. Receipts figures from alcohol and tobacco duties are published monthly by HMRC in the alcohol and tobacco duty bulletins, available at:
	https://www.uktradeinfo.com/index.cfm?task=bulletins&hasFlashPlaver=true

Taxation: Construction

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his most recent estimate is of the average time taken by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to issue a unique taxpayer reference number; what steps HMRC is taking to reduce that time; and if he will make a statement.

David Gauke: In September HMRC published a revised turnaround time of eight weeks for the issue of a Unique Tax Payer Reference (UTR). This timing represents the turnaround from the customer posting the application until processing has been completed and the customer receives the appropriate output. It is currently taking up to nine weeks for a UTR to be issued and plans are in place to reduce this to six weeks by the end of the year.
	Detailed analysis of the full end-to-end process involving agents and other interested parties is currently under way to identify potential improvements with the aim of delivering a more streamlined and more efficient process in the future.

Third Sector: Finance

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with the Minister for Civil Society on the likely effects of the outcome of the spending review on funding for voluntary and community organisations.

Justine Greening: Ministers from Cabinet Office and HM Treasury are in regular contact and have discussed the potential impact of the spending review on the sector. This includes ways of helping voluntary and community organisations transition to a tighter funding environment and future opportunities presented by increased public service delivery.
	At spending review, a £100 million transitional fund was announced to further support those in this sector in their work providing front-line public services.

VAT

Chris Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his most recent assessment is of the potential effect on retail prices of implementation of the change in the rate of VAT to 20 per cent.

David Gauke: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), who has been asked to reply.

Working Tax Credit: Scotland

Anne Begg: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  whether he has made a recent estimate of the number of households in  (a) Aberdeen South constituency,  (b) Aberdeen local authority and  (c) Scotland which will be affected by the freezing of the (i) basic and (ii) 30-hour element of working tax credit;
	(2)  whether he has made a recent estimate of the number of households in  (a) Aberdeen South constituency,  (b) Aberdeen local authority and  (c) Scotland which will be affected by the proposed reduction of the percentage of child care costs which parents may claim through the child care element of the working tax credit;
	(3)  whether he has made an estimate of the number of households in  (a) Aberdeen South constituency,  (b) Aberdeen local authority and  (c) Scotland which will be affected by proposed implementation of the changes to the eligibility rules for working tax credits.

David Gauke: The Government have frozen the basic and 30 hour elements of working tax credit, reduced the proportion of child care costs that can be claimed from 80% to 70%, and changed the working hours rule so that couples with children have to work 24 hours between them to be eligible for working tax credit. To ensure support is better targeted at low income families with children, some of the savings from these measures have been recycled into increases to the child tax credit in 2011-12 and 2012-13 such that there is no measurable negative impact on child poverty.
	All families who are entitled to tax credits will be affected by this package.
	The latest information on the number of households benefiting from tax credits, by each parliamentary constituency and local authority, is available in the HMRC snapshot publication 'Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics. Geographical Analyses', available at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-geog-stats.htm

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Children: Health

Anas Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much funding his Department allocated to projects on the health of children aged under five years in  (a) 2008-09 and  (b) 2009-10.

Stephen O'Brien: Efforts to improve the health of children under-five are an important part of many of Department for International Development funded programmes and of our efforts to strengthen health systems in partner countries. However it is not possible to disaggregate expenditure to improve the health of children under-five from our wider health care spend without incurring disproportionate cost.
	In 2008-09 DFID's total spend on health was over £1 billion. Figures for 2009-10 will be available in January 2011.
	Details of DFID's bilateral projects, including a summary description of each, are published in the project database on the DFID website.

Colombia: Overseas Aid

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what objectives were set for the outcome of projects in Colombia funded by his Department in the last five years; and what mechanisms were used to assess the outcomes of such projects against those objectives.

Stephen O'Brien: Projects funded by the Department for International Development (DFID) in Colombia in the last five years focused on reducing poverty and inequality in line with the international community's commitment to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. Objectives included increasing the access of poor and excluded people to credit, promoting the active role of women in decision making, and supporting those displaced by civil conflict or disasters. DFID's regional office in Bolivia closed in September 2008.
	All DFID development partners provide detailed annual reporting and monitoring information. This allows DFID to check the progress of funded interventions against pre-defined objectives and plans and assess whether it has achieved desired outcomes at the end of a project.
	DFID's work in Colombia is also being assessed as part of the ongoing bilateral and multilateral aid reviews, which will report early next year.

Colombia: Overseas Aid

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what conditions were placed on the allocation of funding to Colombia in the last five years.

Stephen O'Brien: The Department for International Development (DFID) has supported a number of projects through partner organisations and civil society in Colombia over the last five years, alongside core contributions to multilateral agencies.
	We do not use conditions to impose specific policy choices on recipients of DFID funding, but we do use them to help ensure that aid is used effectively for the purposes intended, is not misused through corruption, and can be accounted for to the UK Parliament. Standard conditions include: access for DFID to project sites and to relevant records for the purposes of monitoring, evaluation and audit; provision of annual progress reports to DFID; and continuation of projects being dependent upon satisfactory progress being achieved in the first year.

Colombia: Overseas Aid

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much aid the Government has allocated to projects in Colombia in each of the last five years.

Stephen O'Brien: A breakdown of bilateral aid provided to Colombia from 2005-06 to 2009-10 is provided in the following table (£000). Details of UK aid expenditure are published annually in Statistics on International Development, which is available on the Department for International Development (DFID) website and in the Library of the House.
	
		
			   2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10 
			 Other financial aid 0 0 (1)-14 0 0 
			 Technical co-operation 35 14 0 0 0 
			 Bilateral aid delivered through an NGO 236 270 273 219 0 
			 Humanitarian assistance 110 0 0 0 1,269 
			 Total DFID bilateral programme 382 284 259 219 1,269 
			 (1) Negative amounts reflect accounting adjustments after closure of DFID's regional office in Bolivia.

Infant Mortality

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what indicators his Department uses to assess the effectiveness of its programmes in reducing the number of children who die before their fifth birthday.

Stephen O'Brien: In order to assess the effectiveness of our programmes to improve maternal and newborn health, the Department for International Development (DFID) draws on national data and statistics, as well as data and statistics collected by DFID's partners, including agencies such as the GAVI Alliance and the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria.
	At the global level, DFID also draws on data from the United Nations Statistics Division's Millennium Development Goal (MDG) database, to assess progress against MDGs four and five, pertaining to maternal and child health.
	These data are also being used to inform the ongoing bilateral and multilateral aid reviews.

Sri Lanka: Humanitarian Aid

Anas Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether full-time humanitarian experts funded by his Department are deployed in Sri Lanka.

Stephen O'Brien: The Department for International Development (DFID) had a full-time humanitarian expert based at the British high commission in Colombo from May 2009 to July 2010. Since then, officials in the British high commission in Colombo have monitored the situation and are in regular contact with the Government of Sri Lanka, UN Country Team, the International Committee of the Red Cross, NGOs and donors.

Sri Lanka: Internally Displaced Persons

Anas Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions he has had with the International Organisation for Migration on the return of internally displaced people in Sri Lanka to their homes.

Stephen O'Brien: The Department for International Development (DFID) has funded two humanitarian programmes with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), both of which are now complete. Officials in the British high commission in Colombo continue to monitor the situation of the internally displaced people and are in regular communication with agencies based in Sri Lanka including the IOM.
	With DFID funds, IOM was able to transport internally displaced people from camps back to resettlement areas and provide them with transitional shelter after they arrived.